Ex-Tony! Toni! Toné! singer/producer Raphael Saadiq is holed up in his Sacramento, California, studio recording "authentic and dirty" orchestral R&B for his solo debut.

"It's definitely going to have that Raphael signature sound, but I'm gonna have some fun with it," he said. "Dirty beats, dirty drum sounds — you know, funky." Though he'll handle most of the music and vocals himself, Saadiq plans on having D'Angelo and Angie Stone guest on the album, and he's recruited Preston Crump, who played bass on Outkast's Stankonia, to lay down some lines on a few tracks.

Saadiq opted to go solo after a round in Lucy Pearl, the supergroup he formed in 1999 with ex-A Tribe Called Quest DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and former En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson. Lucy Pearl released their self-titled debut in May of 2000, replacing Robinson with R&B singer Joi late that fall.

The group is now dormant, but Saadiq leaves the door open to recording another album.

"I always kind of explained Lucy Pearl like the Traveling Wilburys," Saadiq said, referring to the rock collective featuring Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and others that recorded albums in 1988 and 1990. "But [Lucy Pearl] turned into the 'most powerful group of the '80s get together!' It was great for marketing but it was really just about putting people together to put music out and enjoy it." Flying solo felt like a natural next move, he said.

"I just felt it was time. I think now is the perfect time, after I've worked with so many different people producing and writing and being in groups. You learn a lot that way, and I feel that I've collected enough experience to do my solo record." Saadiq, who has also been busy producing tracks for Stone, Macy Gray, Ginuwine, TLC, the Isley Brothers and Babyface, is hoping to release his effort in the fall. He has not yet decided on a title, but is considering Manifesto: Raphael Saadiq, featuring Ben Wright and the South Central Chamber Orchestra as one possibility.

He recently set up his own studio, called Pookie Lab, in Sacramento, where his typical work schedule runs from 1 p.m. to 4 a.m.

"The first month-and-a-half was the hardest time," he said. "I had to get in by-myself mode — it was weird looking around the room and it's just me. It felt pretty good, but it took me a while to really get into the swing of it."