Raphael Saddiq Says D'Angelo Is 'In a Good Space,' Recording His Next Album

D'Angelo's back in the studio ten years following his third album, Black Messiah.

His frequent collaborator, musician Raphael Saddiq, appeared on podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now on Monday (September 9), where he shared that D'Angelo is hard at work on his fourth album.

When asked about new music from D'Angelo around the 24-minute mark of the episode, Saddiq answered positively, hinting towards a soon-to-be-expected LP.

"D's in a good space right now. I talked to him a couple of times. He's excited," Saddiq revealed. "

“I called him. We don't talk much, but when we do talk, it's crazy. We're screaming on the phone, like, 'Oh, you gotta hear this.' He like, 'You gotta play bass. I got this track. I'm telling you, you gotta get on it.'"

Saddiq continued, “But I think back to D, I think he's in an amazing space. He's working on six pieces right now."

"And he seems super excited. He's in control of his own destiny at this point. It's no management. He got a management team, but I'm saying they can't make him do anything he don't want to do. I'm sure of that. And he knows it's on him now. And I think that's a different angle that he's coming from."

Elsewhere in the conversation, Saddiq shared that he's in a trio, Linwood Rose, with D'Angelo and Q-Tip, and that their first track as a group will be on D'Angelo's upcoming LP.

“Tip's on the rhyme and bass, D's playing, we singing backgrounds, me and D is singing backgrounds. It's funky as hell too," Saddiq teased.

While Saddiq and D'Angelo's professional ties date back to the 1995 single "Lady," the latter has dropped music on occasion since Black Messiah.