Baatin

Baatin, whose name—an Arabic term signifying a concealed facet of the divine—is spoken as BAAH-teen, began life in the modest community of Hawkinsville, Georgia. Harmony singing first reached him through his mother during church services, after which he took up piano instruction entirely on his own at the age of five. Formal lessons on the instrument commenced at eight, and by nine he had independently mastered both recorder and saxophone. At thirteen he was already performing on saxophone and organ with the Soul Groovers in local clubs. While enrolled at Boggs Academy near Augusta, Georgia, he led both the men’s glee club and the men’s quartet. Following graduation he attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where he earned a B.A. in sociology. He also performed with the Macon-based group Black Snow before rejoining a Hawkinsville ensemble that later became Darkness of Evil and cut the single “Laid Back Funk” for Playboy Records. Subsequent affiliations included Bone, Holmes & Friends, and Light Years; with the trio Top Secret his focus shifted toward jazz. A life-threatening illness in the 1980s prompted him to erect a personal studio, adopt his own name for performances, and relocate to Atlanta. His contributions figured prominently on the Original P’s 1998 album What Dat Shakin’ (Parliament/Funkadelic), and he issued his first solo collection, Sunday Brunch, in 2000.