Raphael Saadiq: Oscars, D’Angelo Absence Explained

Among Sinners‘ record-breaking 16 Academy Award nominations, Thursday brought a nod for Best Original Song, shared ⁢by⁣ music legend Raphael Saadiq and composer‍ Ludwig Göransson. For Saadiq, the nomination for “I Lied to You” (performed in the film by Miles Caton) comes after a brutal year – he lost his brother and Tony! Toni! ‍Toné! co-founder D’Wayne Wiggins, as well as his good friend ⁣and collaborator D’Angelo. Saadiq spoke with Rolling Stone to discuss the song, his grieving process, and more.

2025 was a heavy ⁣year for you, now capped off by this nomination. ⁤Congratulations, and how are you doing?
It’s still affecting me a lot. I had a dream about my brother this morning. Losing my brother and also my good friend Michael⁢ Archer, D’Angelo ⁤- it put a battery in my back. It’s sometimes hard for⁢ me to listen to D’Angelo’s music. When⁣ you meet somebody at the beginning⁤ of their career⁣ and you’re very tight and you understand each other, you just‍ really miss ⁣them. I feel like I ‍am talking to them through spirit and⁤ energy.Working‍ on all this stuff has‍ been the sweeter part, making it all make sense – who I am as a man,⁣ and a friend, and a brother. ⁣that’s ⁣what’s prepared me to ⁢work on Sinners, to work with Ludwig and Ryan Coogler and⁤ Michael B. Jordan. I’ve always been a team player.

In the final version, “I Lied to You” brings in much of ‍the Black music that followed, all the way up to hip-hop, and the way it’s used in the movie is really powerful. But your version was just the blues, right?
Ludwig added that part ⁣in. It was a blues song at first. [Director] Ryan Coogler and⁣ Ludwig pitched it to me and said, “Can you write ⁤the song right now?” Me and Ludwig just picked up guitars and started⁣ playing. I never ⁣read ‍the⁢ script, so I didn’t know about the juke joint burning or the father-son relationship. I just had to go off of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Hubert ⁤Sumlin – what I knew about the blues.