Sade Is 60

Supported by her incredible band otherwise known as Sweetback, Sade has not only given us a string of timeless hits like “Smooth Operator,” “The Sweetest Taboo,” “By Your Side” and “Soldier of Love” these last 36 years. She and her group have also awarded us with classic albums attached to those smashes that continue to inspire a whole new generation of talent who might have discovered their parents’ old copy of Diamond Life or Stronger Than Pride in an old crate of “vinyls,” as the kids like to say. The blend of jazz, soul and sizzle that punctuates all five albums remains as ageless as the singer herself.

Sade hasn’t released a new album since 2010, offering us only one song–“Flower of the Universe” from the soundtrack to the Disney film adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time–but we can only hope the Godmother of Sophisti-Pop and her band will surprise us Beyonce style in honor of her 60th birthday, to which we celebrate by sharing the classic soundclash conspired by the metal faced villain of hip-hop, MF Doom.

Happy Birthday, Sade Adu. We love you.