Sade dedicates new song to her trans son in upcoming album

Iconic British-Nigerian singer Sade is among over 100 artists contributing to Transa — styled as TRAИƧA — a 46-song album from the nonprofit Red Hot, which aims to promote public health and diversity, according to their website. Executive director Dust Reid, who co-produced the album with artist and activist Massima Bell, announced the project, due out November 22. Reid explained that Transa was partially inspired by the 2021 death of pioneering trans producer Sophie and emerged from discussions he and Bell had about “all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world.” Reid and Bell “wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts.”

“Our goal was to create a narrative that positions trans and nonbinary people as leaders in our society, highlighting the deep inner work they do to affirm their identities in today's climate,” Reid said. “This is something everyone should consider, regardless of identity. If you explored your gender and connected with your emotions, perhaps our future could revolve around community, collaboration, care, and healing.”

According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, nearly all of Transa’s 46 tracks are collaborations, organised into eight “chapters” representing stages in a “spiritual journey.” The album features artists of all sexualities and gender identities. Icons like Sade, Sam Smith, André 3000, and Hunter Schafer join emerging trans artists like Lauren Auder, whose cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” with Wendy & Lisa, former collaborators of the late icon, is the first single from Transa.

Other artists involved include pioneering trans punk rocker Jayne County, Perfume Genius, Ezra Furman, Sharon Van Etten, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Bikini Kill’s Kathi Wilcox, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, and many more.

Image Credit: Canva

“We want everyone to identify with this project, not just those who identify as trans today,” Reid explained in a video on Red Hot’s official YouTube channel. “Therefore, we invited artists across genres to celebrate and support trans communities through a cross-cultural, intergenerational musical collaboration featuring some of the world’s most respected artists.”

Sade’s track, ‘Young Lion,’ is part of the album’s seventh chapter, ‘Liberation,’ and is dedicated to her son, model and artist Izaak Theo Adu, who is trans.

“In 2023, I wrote a letter to Sade expressing how meaningful it would be for a parent of a trans child to show support and love for their child,” Bell says in the YouTube video. “She responded warmly and agreed to contribute an original song in support of her trans son Izaak.”

Though the song hasn't been released, The New York Times recently described it as featuring Sade’s distinctive vocals over a soft piano riff, with lyrics written by her. “Young man, it’s been so heavy for you/You must have felt so alone,” she reportedly sings. “I should have known.”

“Hearing a legendary musician like Sade sing about her heartfelt experience as the parent of a trans child is incredible,” Bell told the Times. “It’s incredibly powerful.”

Founded by Leigh Blake and John Carlin in 1989 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Red Hot has produced over 20 albums since its first, 1990’s Red Hot + Blue, a compilation of Cole Porter covers by artists like Sinéad O’Connor, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Erasure, and Annie Lennox, to support organisations fighting the disease. According to the Times, Red Hot has donated around $15 million, primarily from record sales, to related causes since its inception.

However, Carlin mentioned that declining record sales prompted Red Hot to shift its focus from fundraising to raising awareness.

“Red Hot + Blue was the initial beacon of hope for change. We hope Transa can create a similar vision for the future,” Reid said in the organisation’s YouTube clip. “With three decades of reflection, gay people now hold positions of power and love openly, and we want trans people to be able to hold positions of power and be their whole selves.”

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