"I wouldn't even play some things for people, because I know they might be like, 'Oh'. But the the great ones, they want to dive in": Raphael Saadiq says that Beyonce, D'Angelo and Solange can hear the potential in songs that others can't

He might be regarded as one of the finest songwriter-producers working today, but Raphael Saadiq admits that he’s often reluctant to play other artists his material because he senses that they wouldn’t like it.

However, he’s also been able to identify a key shared trait among three of the “great” artists he’s worked with - Beyonce, D’Angelo and Solange - all of whom, he says, are able to spot the potential in a song that he’s played them and (on occasion) others have rejected.