D'Angelo Working On New Music, Raphael Saadiq Says: 'D's In A Good Space'

Raphael Saadiq recently revealed that he's learning to play the piano and that D'Angelo is one of his biggest supporters — and that the elusive singer is making new music.

“D is in a good place right now,” Saadiq said during an appearance on the Rolling Stone Music now podcast. “I talk to him a couple of times. He is excited. We don't talk much, but when we do it's crazy, like “Oh, you gotta hear this!” He says, “You have to play bass. I have this piece. I'm telling you, you have to get it. It has your name all over it.”

Saadiq added: “He's working on six tracks at the moment and seems extremely excited. At this point he controls his own destiny. He has a management team, but they can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do. He knows it's on him now and I think it's a different angle he's coming from.”

One of those songs is from their Lynwood Rose days, when they formed a brief band with A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip. “I think it will be a record on D'Angelo's new album when it comes out, a record we all made together,” Saadiq said. “Lynwood Rose lives. I play bass, D plays, me and D sing backing vocals. It's fun too. D is a bad boy. … It has aged well. Good music ages well.”

The singer has been out and about since releasing his latest album, Black Messiahin 2014. In 2018 he contributed to Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack (is a big fan of the show) with the song “May; Stand Firm” after Rockstar Games sent him the game to test. He did a Verzuz at the Apollo in 2021 that was essentially a solo set with some of his friends, and also contributed to another soundtrack with Jay-Z on “I Want You Forever” from The Book of Clarence released last year.

You can listen to the whole episode here.