Guess Whose Back?

It’s weird to think that Sade’s new joint will be dropping next year. She was probably my first celebrity crush. Hell, my first crush period. She was (is) fine, yes, but it was more the aura of mysterious allure that the artist and her work projected that set my teenage heart to pining away. Her songs were where I first started contemplating romantic love, desire, friendships and adult responsibilities, but also they got me thinking how and when those things break down. I was listening to “Maureen,” “When Am I Going to Make  A Living?” and “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” way before my first love affair or break-up but those songs got me ready to talk about those things.

Her work introduced me to the idea that I’d have to mature. Her albums also teased my young mind with the idea of a hip, bohemian yet cosmopolitan world where sensitive, nerdy types like me might actually fit in.

Musically, the jazzy and soulful vibe of her bandmates helped ignite my curiosity about jazz and soul music.  Sure, those drum machine beats on “Siempre Hay Esperanza” sound a little out of place now, but that sax playing is some on-point ballad artistry.

Sade’s music worked for me as a lonely teenager but it kept on working for me as a committed adult. It’s been ten years since her last studio work and no one’s come close to matching her unique voicings. Lots of songs and singers mine the emotion of longing but no one gets at it the way Ms. Adu does. I may have been first entranced by her when I was still a skinny teenager but I’ve learned (the hard way) that longing doesn’t go away when you’re grown. That’s why Soldier of Love will probably be a day one purchase for me.

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