Sade’s last single was “The Big Unknown,” released in 2018. Though their lead singer, Sade Adu, was alive and well, she and her eponymous band had remained relatively quiet after the release of their last major album, 2010’s Soldier of Love. With a discography of 75 songs and 6 albums, the band plans to add on with the anticipation of a brand new album: TRAИƧA.
The album is being made in honor of Sade Adu’s son, Izaak Theo Adu-Watts and his transition. Gil Kaufman, an author on Billboard pop magazine, says that “the project began to come together in 2021.” Mathew Rodriguez, a journalist for Them magazine, reveals that TRAИƧA features “a bevy of trans and non-binary artists, including Sam Smith, Hunter Schafer, Perfume Genius, Clairo… and features 46 songs, running at over three-and-a-half hours.” Sade fans, watch out for November 22 if you want to experience a “spiritual journey in eight chapters” (Rodriguez) the way Sade and Izaak have.
July 21, 1996, Izaak Adu-Watts was born. Unlike Sade, who has been known to keep an air of privacy around her life, Izaak has always been open about the way he lives and the way he presents, best evidenced by his posts on Instagram. He came out as transgender in 2016, his mother alongside him throughout a journey he describes as “trying, tiring, painful, emotionally exhausting, physically exhausting, uncomfortable,” (Adu-Watts). On July 27, 2019, he posted a photo after a successful transitional procedure. Though the physical and emotional toll was great, he said, “at the end of the day this is the path that was laid out for me and I’ll walk it to the end… because through all this pain is the comfort that it’s not forever and I have the rest of my life ahead of me… I just have to remind myself to be patient sometimes as I’m sure we all do,” (Adu-Watts).
This journey is everything that inspired Sade and other all-stars to rally support for the queer community, including artists like Jeff Tweedy and André 3000 from OutKast. Aside from emotional support, Kaufman mentions that the money raised will go to Red-Hot, a non-profit “that has raised more than $15 million since 1989 to benefit HIV/AIDS relief and awareness,” making the album “one of the most ambitious projects ever.” (Kaufman). As the date towards release draws closer, the support for Izaak’s journey will never die out.
Image Courtesy of Rene Walter on Flickr.
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