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Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the popular 1980s television show Kids Incorporated. He is a native of The Bronx, New York. He was named after '60s jazz saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. His singing and songwriting style are reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, while his voice has also drawn comparisons to Chaka Khan.
CareerKids IncorporatedAfter appearing in a school talent show in 1984, Patterson auditioned for the television show Kids Incorporated. He was cast as "The Kid", and remained on the show for the next few years, appearing alongside such future stars as Fergie, Mario Lopez and Shanice.
Music careerAfter Kids Incorporated, Patterson gained experience as a backup vocalist for several artists (including Kids co-star Martika). Following his vocal contributions on Colour Club's self-titled album, as well as writing for other artists (his credits include Brandy's platinum Top 5 smash "Baby", and Tevin Campbell's hit "Back to the World"), Patterson signed with MCA Records. Collaborating with Keith Crouch and Jamey Jaz, among others, released his own self-titled debut in 1997.
Receiving positive reviews from critics, the album failed to find a large audience (the single "Where You Are" did receive attention on R&B radio). Patterson did, however, develop a loyal following both in the United States and abroad.
Patterson went to work on his followup, Love in Stereo, with Jaz and new collaborators such as Van Hunt
. When Love in Stereo was released in late 1999 it received better reviews than its predecessor, although the mainstream overlooked it.
Although Patterson and MCA parted ways, he remained busy, continuing to perform live, working as a session singer, and contributing to both soundtracks (Brown Sugar) and compilation albums (Steve Harvey's Sign of Things to Come), while working on his next album.
After Hours, Patterson's third album, was released internationally early in 2004, again garnering positive reviews. With the forming of his own label, After Hours saw release in the United States in late October 2004. Further collaborative efforts followed. Patterson's most recent album, Wines and Spirits (again featuring collaborations with Crouch and Jaz) was released in September 2007, and debuted at #42 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, his best showing on that chart to date.
Patterson is openly gay. In a 2008 discussion about being a gay artist with gay station Logo, for example, he said that "For me, it's not about being 'the gay artist'; I'm an artist." In an interview with BET's Daily Voice, Patterson further clarified that "I've never been in the closet or hiding anything."
CollaborationsPatterson co-wrote with Australian Soul singer Guy Sebastian the single Beautiful Life off the Beautiful Life (album). Jarrad Rogers also worked on the album Beautiful Life.
Patterson has recently gone on to work with Australian producer Jarrad 'Jaz' Rogers (Jarrad Rogers) and Danish singer Ida Corr (whose Fedde Le Grand-produced single "Let Me Think About It" has been a huge club hit) in their new project named "SugaRush Beat Company".
You can catch Patterson and Lalah Hathaway, close friend, fellow singer and daughter of Donny Hathaway, on the "Lah and Rah" show at lalahhathaway.com [3] and YouTube.
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