It is rare that a stranger can describe your feelings with startling accuracy. A voice that articulates what is most difficult to express and makes it beautiful. Lyrics that tender love without cliché, pain that smoulders, passions unbridled and the hope that your heart will triumph its inhibitions. Surprisingly, the insight is not unsettling; your exposure begets peace. Your heart has found an emotional companion that demands nothing but your honesty. Only vulnerability will allow you to form the connection that transcends the physical. My kindred spirit is a woman whose talent could only be a product of lessons hard-learned and blessings greatly appreciated. Her name is Sade… and she sings to transform the ethereal to the tangible.

Helen Folasade Adu was born in 1959 to an English mother and a Nigerian father. Aptly dubbed Sade, which means “sweetly singing”, this Nigerian born icon originally pursued a career in fashion design studying at St. Martin’s College. Ironically, Sade only began singing as a favor to friends who were searching for a permanent vocalist. A fan of Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, Sade studied music’s prodigal talents finding her niche in an unduplicated sound. She soon splintered from an early 80s Latin funk band called Pride and along with saxophonist Stewart Matthewman, bassist Paul Spencer Denman and keyboardist Andrew Hale became “Sade.”

In 1983, Epic sought to sign a solo recording deal with Sade who was able to successfully convince the label that “Sade” was a moniker for the whole band (for the duration of their career, most of their audience would never realize that “Sade” referred to more than the sophisticated singing beauty). This was the beginning of a 10-year run where Sade – the group and specifically, the woman – would release 4 albums, perhaps peerless in their emotional depth and humanity.

Musically, the 80s gave birth to a number of talents and divas. And while Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston are undeniably legendary, their projects are dated by the eras in which they were produced. Sade is an exception. Against a backdrop of big hair and neon colors shimmied a mellow nightingale whose voice could almost be accused of monotony. This was on full display when the group released “Your Love is King” in 1984, the first single from the debut album Diamond Life, launching their meteoric rise to success. Diamond Life spent 98 weeks on UK charts and 81 weeks on Billboard earning Sade the Grammy for Best New Artist. The very next year, Sade followed that critical and commercial success with Promise, most well known for “The Sweetest Taboo” and “Is It A Crime”. The latter is my favourite song. As a visual songwriter, Sade narrates using unusual imagery and metaphors. The analogies are not obvious and often open to personal interpretation. The emotional charge that pervades "Is It A Crime" seems uncharacteristic but, as in life, every emotion is tuned to its own frequency. In an effort to persuade a lost love to return, she belts, "my love is wider/ wider than Victoria Lake/ my love is taller/ taller than the Empire State/ it dives/ it jumps/ and ripples like the deepest ocean/ I can't give you more than that/surely you want me back..." After 2 huge albums, Sade was developing a unique sound in stark contrast to what prevailed in those days. She was a paradigm of cool in a signature ponytail and hoop earrings, melodically emoting over syncopated percussion, persistent electronic guitar, subtle keyboard chords and whaling horns. And unlike her peers, Sade’s maturation has never been extreme or abrupt. This includes Stronger Than Pride (1988), Sade’s first album that was entirely self-produced. It hit the world’s stage prompting a pan-continental tour across Europe, Australia and Japan. Sade followed Stronger Than Pride with the evocative Love Deluxe (1992) and then Lover’s Rock (2000), a mesmerizing and mature album that recaptured her fans’ attention after an 8-year hiatus and nearly 20 years after their debut. The nearly imperceptible shifts in sound throughout this tenure denote progression without venturing far from her base. Sade’s music is the blueprint for consistency without complacency.

Although talent recognition is important, commercial success is hardly the measure of a true artist. By ascribing sound to feelings, musicians have the potential for immortality. The capacity to create is afforded only to those with the depth of understanding that refuses to belittle human experience with trite composition. The genius of every Sade song lies in its accessibility. Poignant but uncomplicated, the lyrics are centre-stage shadowed only by the captivating contralto of their author. Too often people mistakenly dismiss the music as sad. But reducing Sade’s music to one component is like seeing only the thorns of the rose. You are missing the experience, the sweetness of honestly recanting life’s complexity. Indeed there is sadness so elegantly penned that your personal experience assumes a new perspective of beauty and grace; Sade speaks about that which is common to everyone… the journey of love. Every song is a sonnet of truth. So much so, that Sade has long since been recognized as the premier emotional therapist for women of every generation. The music is a safe harbour for hearts weathered by the storm. The best free advice: the voice of a friend echoing your feelings. Fortunately, emotions are not gendered so the insight is not reserved for her female fan base. Anyone can heed the admonition in “Hang On To Your Love”, stressing the importance of salvaging your relationship. One emotional freefall is an adequate introduction to the understanding that “Love is Stronger Than Pride”. The accuracy of her description of true love in “Kiss of Life” signifies an intimacy of experience matched by very few artists. Moreover, nearly every album has at least one song addressing relevant social issues. “Pearls” recants the plight of a Somalian woman, “Feel No Pain” explores the problem of unemployment and “Why Can’t We Live Together” is a plea for peace.

H.A. Overstreet wrote, “I have my own particular sorrows, love’s delights and you have yours. But sorrows, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality.” Every Sade CD is a testament to Overstreet’s contention. Sade’s refusal to participate in the celebrity circus provokes intense curiosity from her audience. Swaddled in mystery, the smoky chanteuse has forged a unique bond with her fans. In the absence of tabloid overkill, her exposure is arguably more vulnerable. It is pure and honest and limited to omissions of significance. The music speaks for itself; you need only listen.

Timeless in style and meaning, the sound is still current decades later. It is the meticulous combination of timing, delivery, cadence and instrumentation that engenders the masterpiece. We are not isolationists; it is the interplay of the physical, spiritual, mental and emotional that defines us and Sade is holistic in their contribution. It’s no wonder that Sade has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and enjoyed both critical and commercial acclaim without sacrificing the love of one of the most devoted audiences in the music industry. As strange as it may seem, when I realized that I missed the Love Deluxe tour for want of money and a misplaced desire to be economical, I cried. I mourned the lost meeting, the chance to see a woman so much like myself that she feels like family.