Raphael Saadiq Recalls No One Wanting "Lady" Until D'Angelo Took It

Photo Credit: Victoria Ford for Sneakshot/Okayplayer

Saadiq's manager had even told him that "everything you write is not a hit" in regards to the song.

One of D'Angelo's most well-known songs is "Lady," the third single from his debut album Brown Sugar. But before the R&B and soul singer made the song his own, its original creator — Raphael Saadiq — was having a hard time getting an artist to take it.

READ: D'Angelo Documentary Claims A New Album Is In The Works

During an appearance on ESSENCE's Yes, Girl! podcast Saadiq said nobody wanted "Lady" until D'Angelo heard it.

"I had 'Lady'…maybe six years before I met D'Angelo," he said. "I wrote a big part of 'Lady' like the chorus and the music."

He even said that his manager told him that "everything you write is not a hit" because he wasn't able to place the song.

"But when I met D I said, 'I got this idea and I started playing it and he just looked at me and said, 'I like it,'" Saadiq continued. "So we started writing the lyrics together, to the verse."

"It's for him because at that time it's like you can't hold anything, and if you hold things, you might stunt your growth of ever having the opportunity to write another one because you're so afraid to something them go," Saadiq added.

In August, Saadiq released his sixth album Jimmy Lee, which is inspired by older brother who died of a drug overdose.

"It's a little darker in storytelling. Not really fast, but it's a little aggressive," the musician said of the album in an interview with Okayplayer.

Source: Essence