""Cinematography does it all for me," Grammy-winning musician Raphael Saadiq told IndieWire over Zoom. The R&B icon, who has seen decades of success as a solo artist, as a member of the groups Tony! Toni! Toné! and Lucy Pearl, and as a writer/producer for everyone from Erykah Badu and Earth, Wind & Fire, to Alicia Keys, John Legend, and a few key names he'll get into later, has been explaining the way films have inspired a few of his biggest hits."
"The filmmakers behind "The Express," about the first Black college football player to win the Heisman Trophy, reached out to him because they wanted a Black artist to write a song to replace the Elvis Presley temp track they were using for a montage. Saadiq studied the scene and completed the task, but "they never called me back for the song," he said. "So, I took the song away from the movie and put it on my album, and it's my biggest licensed song ever.""
"And now, here he is again, on the precipice of a second Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, for co-writing "I Lied to You," which soundtracks the centerpiece scene of "Sinners." Another success story from his cinematic sidequests. "I should just ask directors for film when I do my next album," Saadiq joked. "Just write to the film and take all the music and put it on my album.""
Raphael Saadiq has decades of success as a solo artist, as a member of Tony! Toni! Toné! and Lucy Pearl, and as a writer/producer for artists including Erykah Badu, Earth, Wind & Fire, Alicia Keys, and John Legend. Cinematography is a major influence on his songwriting and creative process. He composed "Keep Marching" after studying a montage for The Express, then placed the song on his 2008 album when the film did not use it, and it became his biggest licensed song. He co-wrote "I Lied to You" for Sinners and is poised for a second Oscar nomination. He compares his solo albums to small movies and seeks high-concept projects.
Read at IndieWire
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]