Raphael Saadiq, who is up for an Oscar for Sinners, has lent his talents to groups like Lucy Pearl and Tony! Toni! Toné, as well as to fellow musicians like Solange, D’Angelo and countless others, all while simultaneously pouring into his own career as a solo artist.

“I just realized that I really like music,” he told to Blavity’s Shadow and Act when speaking about his talent. “And to be shared with the world, I never took it that far. There are just so many people that I admired that were sharing it with me, right? So I never did the opposite. I just knew that I could coexist with other people, other artists, and I think that was more the thing for me, as far as getting to other people. I was just as shocked as they were that they liked it.”

Along with making music for himself and others, Saadiq is no stranger to composing original tracks in the film and television space. The recent Oscar nomination — the second for the Oakland, California, native — showcases his dominance in the space.

His recent collaboration with Ludwig Göransson for the original song central to the arc of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners has landed Saadiq another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for “I Lied to You.”

Saadiq’s first nomination was in 2018 for “Mighty River” in the film Mudbound, in the same category.

“I Lied to You,” performed by breakout star Miles Caton, is a nod to the blues, a genre Saadiq fell in love with at an early age.

‘I was always ready’

“Growing up as a kid, listening to my mother’s friends playing blues records at their house, at our house, I think I was just sort of made for a film like Sinners. And the song ‘I Lied to You,’ sort of just came out of the air, of the challenge, and having so much history with blues,” he explained. “When I was with my first band, Tony! Toni! Toné, we had a record called ‘The Blues,’ and so I just think I was born for it. I was always ready.”

He added, “My dad sang blues. I played in blues clubs when I was, you know, 11, 12 years old, accompanying guitar players and blues singers. My dad would take me to the blues clubs and let me sit and play blues. So I think maybe God knew this was going to happen. Like, ‘You’re going to play music. You love music. You’re going to be ready for whatever there is to come.’”

Saadiq credits “right place, right time” for landing his role on the Sinners soundtrack, noting a personal tie to filmmaker Ryan Coogler.

“Ryan Coogler is actually from Oakland,” he said. “His dad was really good friends with my late, great brother D’Wayne Wiggins. It’s just this thing, it’s hard to explain. I like to say the ancestors kind of come through you and write these songs. I’m the vessel. I don’t know how it happens. I just enjoy the ride and try to keep it all together, and just keep loving music. Like The Lord of the Rings, I see myself as a hobbit. Everyone can’t wear the ring because there’s so much power in it, and you have to be able to control it. I spent more time controlling that part of it, the power of music, the power of industry, the power of, like, keeping a humble spirit and keeping what got me here. Just keeping my head down, working on music, working on life, working with my family, talking to my nieces and nephews, and just trying to keep it 100. That’s what I try to do.”

Music is his focus 

While Saadiq awaits the results of the Oscars on March 15, he’s been busy doing what he loves to do — enjoying the music. 

“I’m lost in the music. I am lost in it,” he said. “Sometimes when people see me play, like my dad would say, ‘Who are you? You’re so different when you play music live.’ And my dad’s like, ‘Are you on drugs? Because on stage you light up, and then when you come off stage, it’s like it never even happened.’”

Saadiq added, “I feel like that’s how you have to be. You have to have amnesia when something gets big, so you can be ready to do it live or to perform. It’s like a basketball player, you miss a shot, and you’ve got to be back and shoot that rock again. You’ve got to be able to feed it, and I think my profession is turning the light off and just being me. And I have to say, D’Angelo, Mike Archer, was the first one who told me to leave my guitar on the track, and now I play guitar live, you know? I contribute that to him, too, because I probably would have never played. I never thought about this, maybe I never would have played guitar in front of people if I didn’t play it on ‘Lady’ first. And then I ended up playing guitar when we did ‘Untitled,’ and writing with him.”

Earlier this month, Saadiq hit the Grammys stage to pay homage to the late singer, as well as the late Roberta Flack, in a star-studded tribute curated by Lauryn Hill. 

“I haven’t performed at the Grammys since I played with Mick Jagger, but this performance was so special because I was representing D’Angelo and also Roberta Flack, who I loved,” Saadiq said. “I was playing the guitar. It meant a lot. I’m glad I did it because I almost missed it. I almost didn’t do it, but it worked out. We were able to do it, his band, the Vanguard, [Isaiah Sharkey] from Chicago, who put it together, and we sort of made sure that it was right for us, too. And Ms. Lauryn Hill is the sweetest; she’s a sweet person. It worked out. The love was in the whole room with all of us, and we went up there collectively and just lifted it. I could feel the energy of the people talking about it today. I’m so glad I did it, and I really wanted to honor those two people, and Mr. Mike Archer, I know he’s up there like ‘peace,’” he chuckled.

Saadiq said he has no plans of letting up anytime soon. Recently, he served as the executive producer for R&B singer Brent Faiyaz’s third studio album, Icon. Saadiq also revealed that he has plans to put out four albums this year, eight songs a piece, and to ultimately get back out on the road to tour.