Sade and Erykah Badu- The saviours of soul

Alright, alright, alright the words continuously sung in Erykah Badu’s bridge of her song Cleva. The beautiful blend of her sweet sound of jazz blues, and a voice so distinct that it takes your mind on a journey of time travel back to the days of the black female voice being a powerful force promoting change and progression, a reassuring message. Listening to her re-awakens the vibe of jazz legends such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, timeless and yet there is a struggle to keep this genre in its pure form alive in the present age. Personally the most poignant moment of her iconic song Tyrone ‘Ms Badu is always coming for real’ and her telling her man to call his mate to ‘come over and get his shit’ haha evokes a funny yet important message to black women about standing their ground in the face of all the bullshit that surrounds them on a daily basis. She hands out a stable branch of afro-eclectic strength that encourages women of colour to pull themselves out of their shell, providing a subliminal, sweet, sexy yet sensual concoction of music and heritage and personally very few artists have been able to make it work the way that Erykah can.

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Another artist that gives me the feels is Sade, who arguably has the purest voice i have ever heard. She started producing music in the 1980’s, is of mixed Nigerian and English heritage and is the prime reason for my hoop obsession. Her biracial identity and choice of soul left listeners confused with her Britishness, which is interesting considering that British music has always been distinct and maintained a form of independence from the more mainstream Black American sound. Like the beautiful mixture of her heritage, her music should not be separate from her identity but instead should be thought of as a mechanism that drives other British multi-racial and women of colour like myself to relate more to this conception of Britishness. More importantly this beauty has retained her status as the Queen of British Black soul in the face of Adele, who drops to second place as the biggest British selling artist in America. I consider Sade a perfectionist and in her own right a pioneer responsible for keeping the voice and sensual rhythm alive.