Raphael Saadiq Wanted Lauryn Hill In Lucy Pearl Over Dawn Robinson

Raphael Saadiq reportedly shaded his former Lucy Pearl bandmate Dawn Robinson during his No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits show on Saturday (June 7) in Oakland, Calif.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that during his one-man show, Saadiq somewhat confessed that he would’ve preferred having Lauryn Hill in Lucy Pearl instead of Robinson. The group was originally composed of Saddiq, Robinson, and A Tribe Called Quest‘s Ali Shaheed Muhammad from 1999 until 2001.

“We had our own Lauryn Hill. Actually, I’d rather have Lauryn,” Saddiq stated. He also spoke about Robinson’s abrupt departure in 2001 and noted similarities between that and her exit from En Vogue. “I couldn’t believe it. We did an album in six months, but toured for less than a month,” he explained.

After singing his rendition of Lucy Pearl’s most successful hit, “Dance Tonight,” Saadiq quipped, “See! I didn’t need her. I could’ve sang it myself.” He later revealed his true thoughts on her claim about being homeless. “That s**t about her living in her car is not real,” he suggested.

Back in March, Robinson shared that she’d been living in her car for nearly three years, but promptly clarified that she wasn’t “homeless.”

“I felt free,” she shared about her decision. “I felt like I was on a camping trip. It just felt like it was the right thing to do.” Robinson described this chapter of her life as “awakening, healing, forgiving, and growing,” adding, “It’s not ‘woe is me.’ I’m learning about who I am, I’m learning myself as a person, as a woman.”