“Prince picked up my bass – but it was tuned to Eb, so he just found one note that worked and he stayed on it the entire song”: Raphael Saadiq on playing with Prince, D'Angelo and the “dead” 1962 Fender that put the vintage in Instant Vintage

Recording artist Raphael Saadiq performs onstage at the Keep Memory Alive foundation's "Power of Love Gala" celebrating Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena February 18, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. .

As hip-hop continues to influence styles ranging from R&B to heavy metal and beyond, the musician-meets-machine concept is being played out in various ways. Few of these approaches are more cutting-edge than that of Raphael Saadiq, who merged hip-hop's programmed approach with his old-school R&B roots to create a whole new rhythm section style.

Offers Glenn Standridge, one half of Saadiq's production team: “When we're creating tracks, everyone sort of plays to their own beat, with everything revolving around Raphael's bass guitar – so it has that loose, hip-hop quality of samples layered together. The result is a best-of-both-worlds scenario that creates a feel all its own.”