You obviously know who Damian Lillard is and probably agree he’s one of the best, if not the best, rapping athletes ever, so I don’t have to say anything else about him. But the special guest on his new song “Hero,” is a legend in the music industry who I feel is and has always been unappreciated: Grammy-winner writer/producer/singer Raphael Saadiq.

I discovered the Oakland native when he was a member of the early 90’s R&B group Toni, Toni, Toni and released the tracks “Feels Good” and “It Never Rains In Southern California.” I remained a fan after he left the group and did exceptional collaboration projects with artists like J-Dilla and D’Angelo.  And now, 26 years after “Feels Good” was released and Damian Lillard was born in Oakland to a friend of Saadiq, Adidas brought the two together for an exceptional collaboration project called #SongsFromScratch.

You can learn more about the project in the following video or click here to listen to other songs by Dame.

In honor of Saddiq, here’s a few of my favorite tracks he was involved with.