Diamond Life Sade
Helen Folasade Adu, or Sade Adu, was born in Nigeria, descending from the lineage of African Yoruba traditions in January of 1959. This places her roots in the same soil as Fela Kuti, the revolutionary Nigerian musician who started the Afrobeat genre in the late 1960s. Sade's mother didn't stick around for this musical revolution, and her parents split. She moved to England at the age of four, but those early years growing up in Nigeria and experiencing the diverse landscapes of Africa influenced her unique stylings. Her parents were extremely wealthy, and her middle name literally means "crowned with wealth" in Yoruba. Her father is Nigerian, and her mother is British, making her lineage a unique post-colonization mixture. Sade grew up listening to soul music, loving Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson. Helen cut her teeth in the modeling and fashion world on the hip streets of London. She first joined the band Pride, and then she started Sade in 1983. She really hit it off with guitarist/saxophonist Stuart Matthewman of Pride, and the two separated and started the Sade project. Their debut album, Diamond Life, was released in the UK in 1984 and in the United States in 1985. I'm not gonna lie. My roots with this record don't run as deep, but when I moved downtown and my record collection was frequently on display, women often commented, "You have Sade's Diamond Life," and I took notice.
The album opens with Smooth Operator a jazzy number with saxophone and keys on full display. The song sounds of sex, and Sade's sultry voice drags you in and leads you to the waters, allowing you to take a refreshing drink. This whole album is about love, and it's all there: the good, the bad, the ugly. The next track Your Love is King takes the swanky tones up a notch slowing it down with chinky guitar riffs inviting you to "Touching the very part of me, it's making my soul sing I'm crying out for more, your love is king" as the saxophone takes control of your soul. Reminding you to never give up looking for that special person that allows you to feel as good as this song sounds "never letting go". In Hang On to Your Love, the territory gets a little rocky, and Sade reminds you to take your time when the going gets tough because Love is precious, baby. "In heaven's name, why are you walking away? Hang on to your love, In heaven's name, why do you play these games? Hang on to your love". The keys on this one are a real treat. In the United States, the album spawned four singles. Smooth Operator, Your Love is King, Hang On to Your Love, and When Am I Going to Make a Living. The fourth track, Frankie's First Affair, takes the album into dangerous rocky waters, demonstrating what happens when you fail to hang on to your love. The saxophone starts off low and slow, and the vocals preach to the trust you lose when you cheat on your lover. "You know the tricks As if they're your invention; it wasn't your intention, Frankie, to fall into the trap you made." The song structures holds tight space for anyone going through experiences with emotional betrayal. The keys start the drive on When Am I Going to Make a Living marking a different sonic texture to the character of this track versus the others. Perhaps this song is questioning the artists' struggle "we're hungry for a life we can't afford." The back beat on this song takes on a post-disco flavor that uplifts the body and mind "Oh there's no end to what you can do, They'll waste your body and soul if you allow them to, Oh start believing in yourself Put the blame on no one else". The hope and prosperity this song ushers in is contagious, seriously listen and feel the good vibes. The 6th track, Cherry Pie is a sonic tease with the guitars slithering and sliding around in the background as Sade reminds you what you lose when you go breaking hearts but starting out "as sweet as cherry pie as wild as Friday night" then crying "You're the one that broke my heart in two". Sally is a bold story song about a woman named Sally who on the surface, sounds like a prostitute "put your hands together for Sally, She's the one who cared for him Put your hands together for Sally, She was there when his luck was running thin" but on twitter, some people claim this is about the salvation army. IDK. I hear prostitution. The next song, the last original track on the album I Will Be Your Friend, brings the themes of love and loss full circle with the bold pronouncement of "I will be your friend until the end of time". The final track on the album Whey Can't We Live Together is from 1972, originally written and performed by Timmy Thomas. The original track was one of the first songs to feature a rhythm machine(electronic drum production technique). The cover pays homage to this. Lyrically this song is directly in line with the album. "Tell me why can't we live together?" but provides beautiful closing ideals for the album "No more war, No more war, Just a little peace" , transcending the personal relationship dynamic displayed throughout the character of the bulk of the album. "No matter, no matter what color, Mmm, you are still my brother I said, "No matter, no matter what color, Mmm, you are still my brother"
Luckily Sade is still out there she’s 65 and she released her most recent album Soldier of Love in 2010. Sade lived with a heroin addiction for a number of years and her 1985 song “The Sweetest Taboo” is about her heroin use. Marking a trend for black female Jazz singers from Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, to Sade. The rumors were rampant in the mid 80’s and she has been very vocal about her recovery and has been sober since the mid 1990’s.
Spread Peace and love with all that you do,
Will
