WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.559 You know we live in an era where the formula 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:08.699 for success is just incredibly rigid. Especially 00:00:08.699 --> 00:00:11.060 in entertainment. Oh, absolutely. The prevailing 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:13.259 wisdom is that you have to broadcast basically 00:00:13.259 --> 00:00:15.660 everything you do. Right. Like, you eat a sandwich, 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:17.920 you post it, you write half a chorus, you tease 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:19.879 it on social media for like six months. Yeah, 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:21.500 and then you try to make a dance challenge out 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:24.320 of it. Exactly. It's this economy of constant, 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.160 relentless visibility. If you aren't constantly 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:29.980 in the feed, you basically don't exist. I mean, 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:31.899 the algorithm is basically an apex predator, 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.299 right? It demands to be fed daily. It really 00:00:34.299 --> 00:00:37.439 does. And there's this pervasive... Almost existential 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.420 fear among creators that if you disappear for 00:00:40.420 --> 00:00:43.380 even a month, let alone a year You are just going 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:45.179 to be erased from the cultural memory. The machine 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:47.369 just moves on without you But then you look at 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:50.310 the absolute highest echelons of music history 00:00:50.310 --> 00:00:53.310 and you find this incredible glaring anomaly, 00:00:53.729 --> 00:00:56.909 like a musical white whale who completely shatters 00:00:56.909 --> 00:00:59.609 that entire modern formula. Someone who disappears 00:00:59.609 --> 00:01:02.369 not for weeks or even months, but for entire 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:05.430 decades at a time. Decades. And when she finally 00:01:05.430 --> 00:01:07.870 decides to just casually stroll back into the 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:11.349 public eye, the entire world stops, goes totally 00:01:11.349 --> 00:01:14.069 silent and listens. It's wild to think about. 00:01:14.209 --> 00:01:17.689 So welcome to today's We are so thrilled to have 00:01:17.689 --> 00:01:20.450 you here with us, because today we're exploring 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:24.549 the enigmatic, enduring legacy of Helen Folassado 00:01:24.549 --> 00:01:27.430 -Doux. Though you and the rest of the globe probably 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:29.769 know her simply as Saad. Right. We're pulling 00:01:29.769 --> 00:01:32.650 from this remarkably comprehensive biographical 00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:35.230 profile of her life, her discography, and just 00:01:35.230 --> 00:01:37.959 her massive cultural impact. And our mission 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:40.540 today is really to decode the paradox of SAD. 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:43.939 Like, how does an artist who takes 10 -year hiatuses, 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:46.659 who avoids the press like it's a literal contagion, 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:49.540 and actively shuns the entire pop star machine? 00:01:49.739 --> 00:01:52.060 How does she manage to build one of the most 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:54.480 profitable and influential catalogs in music 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.519 history? It's fascinating. The less she gives 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.040 the machine, the more powerful her legacy actually 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:01.299 becomes. It defies every single rule of the industry. 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:04.000 Okay, let's unpack this. How does a fashion design 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.719 student from Essex end up creating the best -selling 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.750 debut by a British female vocalist ever? Well, 00:02:10.009 --> 00:02:12.030 we really have to start with the origin story 00:02:12.030 --> 00:02:15.090 because it completely dictates the way she moved 00:02:15.090 --> 00:02:17.169 through the rest of her career. Right, right. 00:02:17.349 --> 00:02:19.849 So to understand her trajectory, you have to 00:02:19.849 --> 00:02:22.750 look way outside of a recording studio. She was 00:02:22.750 --> 00:02:26.969 actually born in Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1959. OK. 00:02:27.050 --> 00:02:29.469 And her middle name, Folassad, it actually means 00:02:29.469 --> 00:02:33.330 crowned with wealth in Yoruba. Oh, wow. That 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:35.689 is incredibly fitting. Isn't it? Yeah. But she 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:37.930 moved to England when she was four and grew up 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:41.479 in Essex. The really crucial turning point, though, 00:02:41.819 --> 00:02:44.360 the crucible where her identity is truly forged, 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:46.939 is when she moves to London. To study fashion 00:02:46.939 --> 00:02:48.979 design, right, at St. Martin's School of Art. 00:02:49.219 --> 00:02:51.240 And St. Martin's is this legendary institution 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:53.300 for creatives. I mean, it's not just a school. 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:56.020 It's like a cultural incubator. Right. And she 00:02:56.020 --> 00:02:58.719 wasn't just studying fashion conceptually. You 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:00.139 know, she was actually living it. She was making 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:02.719 her own clothes, diving into menswear tailoring. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:05.460 She even modeled briefly. I can totally see that. 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.120 And this background is basically the master key 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:11.360 to understanding her early success. When she 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.460 eventually transitioned into music initially, 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:17.240 just singing backup for this British Latin soul 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:20.900 band called Pride, she possessed this superpower 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:23.460 that most young artists spend a decade trying 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:26.259 to get. Which is knowing exactly who she was 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.300 visually. Yes. She didn't need a stylist or an 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:32.819 image consultant or like a mood board from some 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:35.060 record executive. Because she was the architect 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:37.300 of her own aesthetic from day one. Exactly. She 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:39.000 was already constructing those sharp suits, the 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.740 slick back hair, the iconic red lip. So by the 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:44.039 time she formed a songwriting partnership with 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:46.580 Pride's guitarist and saxophonist, Stuart Matthew 00:03:46.580 --> 00:03:49.080 Men, and they started doing these mini sets at 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:52.259 Pride gigs, she was already presenting this fully 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:54.639 formed artistic vision. Completely. And that 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:56.819 actually brings up a really crucial detail that 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.080 gets lost when people talk about her. Oh, about 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:01.840 the name? Yeah. Saad isn't just her name as a 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:03.699 solo artist. It's the name of the entire band. 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.259 Yes. Let's pause on that because I think it completely 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:10.319 changes how we view her sound. It wasn't just 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.120 Helen Fulasado and a bunch of hired session musicians. 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:15.800 Not at all. The band was Saad, Stuart Matthew 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:19.060 Man, keyboardist Andrew Hale, and bassist Paul 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:21.819 Denman. They forged their sound together like. 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:24.160 totally organically. It really did. But wait, 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:25.899 I want to push back on the timeline of their 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.399 rise here, because looking at the sources, it 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:30.379 shows something that just doesn't compute with 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:32.819 normal music industry mechanics. How do you mean? 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:34.839 Well, usually a band forms. They play a bunch 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:37.500 of empty dive bars. They hand out rough demos. 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:40.480 They slowly build a local following. Right. But 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.660 Saad seemed to step into the spotlight and instantly 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:46.000 cause a riot. I mean, they were playing the Heaven 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.680 Night Club in London in 1983 before they even 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.399 signed a record deal, and 1 ,000 people had to 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:54.100 be turned away at the door. It's crazy. Like, 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:56.480 how does a band without a label build that much 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:59.759 organic hype in 1983, long before the internet, 00:05:00.019 --> 00:05:02.600 long before viral TikToks? Well, it really comes 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:05.180 down to the mechanics of London's underground 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:09.220 club scene at the time. In the early 80s, London 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:12.350 nightlife was fiercely tribal. Tribal in what 00:05:12.350 --> 00:05:14.709 way? Like you had the new romantics over here, 00:05:15.149 --> 00:05:17.170 the punk remnants over there, the early synth 00:05:17.170 --> 00:05:20.129 pop crowds, and word of mouth in these hyper 00:05:20.129 --> 00:05:23.170 -specific tastemaker circles was just incredibly 00:05:23.170 --> 00:05:26.750 potent. Oh, I see. Side tapped right into this 00:05:26.750 --> 00:05:29.790 burgeoning underground soul and jazz funk scene. 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:33.339 So you combine this incredibly tight live band 00:05:33.339 --> 00:05:36.420 playing a totally fresh sound with an unbelievably 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:39.120 chic front woman who already looks like a global 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:41.220 superstar. Yeah, the tastemakers are gonna talk. 00:05:41.379 --> 00:05:43.899 Exactly, the DJs talk, the fashion students talk. 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.620 The hype just became this physical, undeniable 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:49.220 force that the record labels had to chase instead 00:05:49.220 --> 00:05:51.160 of the other way around. Which completely flips 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:53.300 the power dynamic. When Epic Records finally 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:55.860 signed them in 1983, they weren't molding some 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:58.220 naive artists. No, they were acquiring a fully 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:00.339 realized enterprise. And that leads right to 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:03.410 the explosion. In 1984, they dropped Diamond 00:06:03.410 --> 00:06:06.009 Life and they recorded the entire thing in just 00:06:06.009 --> 00:06:09.310 six weeks in London. Six weeks. And it absolutely 00:06:09.310 --> 00:06:11.649 detonates. I mean, it sells over six million 00:06:11.649 --> 00:06:15.329 copies globally, wins a Brit award. You've got 00:06:15.329 --> 00:06:18.629 Smooth Operator and Your Love is King instantly 00:06:18.629 --> 00:06:21.389 becoming these massive international anthems. 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:24.189 And they followed it up almost immediately with 00:06:24.189 --> 00:06:28.250 Promise. in late 1985, which became their first 00:06:28.250 --> 00:06:30.430 album to hit number one on the U .S. Billboard 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:34.430 200. And that album spawned The Sweetest Taboo, 00:06:34.509 --> 00:06:37.269 which stayed on the U .S. Hot 100 for an astonishing 00:06:37.269 --> 00:06:40.290 six months. Six months is an eternity in pop 00:06:40.290 --> 00:06:43.430 music. It really is. And then in 1986, she actually 00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:45.750 became the first Nigerian born artist to win 00:06:45.750 --> 00:06:48.149 a Grammy, taking home best new artist. You know, 00:06:48.170 --> 00:06:50.449 the demand was so feverish that radio stations 00:06:50.449 --> 00:06:52.750 actually had to change their operational playbook. 00:06:52.889 --> 00:06:55.509 I love this part. Right. Top 40 radio in the 00:06:55.509 --> 00:06:58.209 80s was so heavily reliant on playing just the 00:06:58.209 --> 00:07:00.689 designated hit singles, but listeners were so 00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:02.649 obsessed with the sonic texture of this band 00:07:02.649 --> 00:07:06.350 that radio programmers reinstated this old 1970s 00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:09.110 FM radio practice. Of playing deep cuts. Yes. 00:07:09.670 --> 00:07:13.029 They started adding non -singles like that sprawling 00:07:13.029 --> 00:07:15.949 cinematic track, Is It a Crime? straight into 00:07:15.949 --> 00:07:18.310 their heavy rotation just to satisfy the public. 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:21.110 What's really fascinating here is the stark contrast 00:07:21.110 --> 00:07:23.850 between her sound and what was dominating the 00:07:23.850 --> 00:07:26.170 cultural landscape in the mid -1980s. Oh, yeah. 00:07:26.410 --> 00:07:29.029 Picture the 80s. Right, it was loud. You had 00:07:29.029 --> 00:07:32.930 neon aesthetics, aggressive synthesizers, massive 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:36.829 stadium rock drums, vocalists basically belting 00:07:36.829 --> 00:07:39.329 at the top of their lungs. And into this totally 00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:41.730 hyper -stimulated environment walks Sod. And 00:07:41.730 --> 00:07:44.129 the industry really tried to categorize it like... 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.819 Was it smooth jazz? Was it quiet storm? You know, 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.579 that late night R &B format with relaxed tempos? 00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:53.079 Or was it sophisticated pop, combining pop melodies 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:55.079 with jazz arrangements? Exactly. They didn't 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:56.610 know what to do with it. It's like she brought 00:07:56.610 --> 00:07:59.230 a whisper to a screaming match and somehow the 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:01.490 whisper won. That's a great way to put it. Other 00:08:01.490 --> 00:08:04.910 singers were doing these massive exhausting vocal 00:08:04.910 --> 00:08:07.949 acrobatics and she just stood there totally poised 00:08:07.949 --> 00:08:10.129 delivering these incredibly restrained lines. 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:12.350 Our source material actually quotes the New Yorker 00:08:12.350 --> 00:08:15.089 on this and they described her voice so beautifully. 00:08:15.410 --> 00:08:19.750 What did they say? They called it a grainy contralto 00:08:19.750 --> 00:08:23.300 full of air that betrays a slight ache. but no 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:26.399 agony, and values even imperfect dignity over 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.180 a show of pain. Oh, wow. Values imperfect dignity 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:33.360 over a show of pain. Yeah. That is just the defining 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:35.759 characteristic of her entire persona, isn't it? 00:08:35.779 --> 00:08:38.379 It really is. She never over emotes. She leaves 00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:41.139 space in the music. The bass lines actually breathe. 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:43.700 The saxophone is smooth. It's not frantic. It 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:46.320 forces you to lean in rather than blasting you 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:48.679 against the wall. Exactly. But here's where it 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:51.259 gets really interesting, I think. Just as she 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:54.679 reaches this stratospheric level of global fame, 00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:57.759 she does the unthinkable. Yep. Every other artist 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.059 in this position locks into a relentless, exhausting 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:03.720 album tour album cycle. You know, you have to 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:05.799 cash in while the iron is hot. That's the industry 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.379 rule. That's odd. After releasing Love Deluxe 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:11.340 in 1992, which was another massive hit, she just 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:14.100 vanishes for eight years. And eight years in 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:16.139 pop music isn't just a hiatus. It's an entire 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:19.240 geologic era. I mean, entire genres are born, 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:22.500 mainstreamed and die in eight years. Grunge came. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:25.259 And when in that time, boy band explosion happened. 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:27.529 But I want to challenge the narrative around 00:09:27.529 --> 00:09:29.850 this hiatus a little bit because the common story 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:32.210 is always that she just wanted to live a normal 00:09:32.210 --> 00:09:35.970 life. Right. But wait, is it really just a desire 00:09:35.970 --> 00:09:39.470 for a quiet life or is there an element of intense, 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:42.230 almost paralyzing perfectionism at play here? 00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:44.669 That's a good question. Because it's hard to 00:09:44.669 --> 00:09:47.129 believe an artist of that caliber simply stops 00:09:47.129 --> 00:09:49.690 caring about the work. Does she step away because 00:09:49.690 --> 00:09:52.250 she's living or because she just refuses to release 00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:55.250 anything less than a masterpiece? That is a phenomenal 00:09:55.250 --> 00:09:57.429 distinction, actually. And the sources suggest 00:09:57.429 --> 00:09:59.789 it's really a combination of both. OK. It's not 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:01.850 that she stops caring about the work. It's that 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:05.070 she respects the work too much to force it. In 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:07.789 an industry utterly obsessed with constant output, 00:10:08.330 --> 00:10:10.830 she realized that you cannot write authentically 00:10:10.830 --> 00:10:14.269 about the human experience if your only experience 00:10:14.269 --> 00:10:17.250 is the inside of a tour bus or a luxury hotel. 00:10:17.250 --> 00:10:19.929 Right. You need actual life experiences. Exactly. 00:10:20.610 --> 00:10:22.759 By moving to the Caribbean, raising her child, 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:25.279 and later buying this rundown cottage in the 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:27.480 Gloucestershire countryside to renovate, she 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:30.399 was gathering real, grounded material. So the 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.220 perfectionism lies in only returning to the studio 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:36.080 when the well of inspiration is organically full 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:40.019 again. Precisely. And the gamble caved off spectacularly. 00:10:40.250 --> 00:10:42.970 When the band finally returned in 2000 with Lover's 00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:45.610 Rock, it was a massive success, earning her another 00:10:45.610 --> 00:10:47.730 Grammy. And then, incredibly, she took an even 00:10:47.730 --> 00:10:50.429 longer break. Yeah, 10 full years before releasing 00:10:50.429 --> 00:10:52.590 Soldier of Love in 2010. And we have to look 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:54.509 at the numbers on that 2010 return, because it 00:10:54.509 --> 00:10:56.889 defies all commercial logic. Greatest. Soldier 00:10:56.889 --> 00:10:59.330 of Love debuts at number one in the US, selling 00:10:59.330 --> 00:11:03.320 502 ,000 copies in its first week alone. Unbelievable. 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:05.580 It set a record for the longest gap between number 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.700 one albums for a group, nearly 25 years between 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:10.840 Promise hitting number one and Soldier of Love 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:12.799 hitting number one. And you can't forget the 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:16.639 tours. Oh, right. The 2001 tour grossed $26 million. 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:21.000 Right. And the 2011 tour, over $50 million. So 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.940 the scarcity actually created an insatiable demand. 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:27.460 Yes. Because she never saturated the market. 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:32.700 Every single release felt like a monumental cultural 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:35.899 event. So what does this all mean for you? If 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:38.059 you are listening to this right now and you're 00:11:38.059 --> 00:11:41.139 feeling that pressure to constantly be on, you 00:11:41.139 --> 00:11:44.519 know, constantly producing, constantly hustling 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:46.620 in your career or even just on your social media. 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:49.600 Oh, yeah, the burnout is real. Side is the ultimate 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:53.289 proof that scarcity has incredible value. setting 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:55.769 boundaries and occasionally stepping back entirely, 00:11:56.169 --> 00:11:58.870 it doesn't diminish your relevance. In her case, 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:01.690 refusing to be accessible actually fueled her 00:12:01.690 --> 00:12:03.750 professional mystique. And if we connect this 00:12:03.750 --> 00:12:06.460 to the bigger picture. That grounding, that total 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:09.059 lack of trying to chase trends, it led to one 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:11.039 of the most surprising twists in her legacy. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:12.740 Oh, I know where you're going with this. Right. 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:14.820 If you ask the average person who Saad's biggest 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:17.580 fans are, they might guess like adult contemporary 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.320 listeners or jazz enthusiasts. Sure. But her 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.360 influence on hip hop and R &B is absolutely staggering. 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:25.659 The list of disciples is totally wild. You have 00:12:25.659 --> 00:12:28.779 the legendary rapper Rakim of Eric B and Rakim 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:32.200 directly rephrasing Smooth Operator on his 1988 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:35.059 track Microphone Fiend. Yeah. You have Kanye 00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:38.259 West taking to his blog in 2010 when Soldier 00:12:38.259 --> 00:12:49.059 of Love dropped. He wrote, And Rick Ross literally 00:12:49.059 --> 00:12:51.389 declared in an interview, There's never been 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:54.090 a bad side track. It's amazing. And it goes beyond 00:12:54.090 --> 00:12:56.710 just name -dropping. R &B legends like the Lata 00:12:56.710 --> 00:12:59.309 Lea, Brandi, Missy Elliott, they all cite her 00:12:59.309 --> 00:13:02.389 as a core sonic influence. And Tella Quelli said 00:13:02.389 --> 00:13:05.129 he learned the concept of precision as a live 00:13:05.129 --> 00:13:07.730 performer just by watching her navigate the stage 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:09.769 during the Love Deluxe Tour at Madison Square 00:13:09.769 --> 00:13:12.049 Garden. She even crosses over into heavy metal, 00:13:12.330 --> 00:13:14.129 strangely enough. Really? Heavy metal? Yeah. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.080 Chino Moreno, the front man of death tones, frequently 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:20.039 names her as a massive inspiration. Rolling Stone 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.759 actually ranked her at number 51 on their greatest 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:25.840 singers of all time list back in 2023. But let's 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.840 dig into the mechanics of that hip hop connection 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.340 for a second. Why does a British Nigerian singer 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:32.740 living in rural England become the patron saint 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:35.840 of 90s and 2000s hip hop? Well, what do you think? 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:38.399 I think it has a lot to do with the sonic architecture 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:42.379 of her music. Think about 90s boom bap hip hop. 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:45.460 It relies heavily on these deep, walking bass 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:48.899 lines, sparse drum pockets, jazz samples. Right. 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:51.799 Sade's band was already building these incredibly 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:55.039 spacious, bass heavy, jazz inflected grooves. 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:58.720 It was practically begging to be sampled or rhymed 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:00.820 over. The sonic alignment is definitely there, 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:04.299 I agree. But there is a deep ideological alignment 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:06.700 too. What do you mean? Well, what does hip hop 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:09.360 value above almost everything else? Authenticity. 00:14:10.180 --> 00:14:12.679 Exactly. Staying relentlessly true to your own 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:15.120 roots, keeping your circle tight, and never bending 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.440 to what the mainstream pop establishment dictates. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:20.220 Oh, that makes total sense. Sade never once chased 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:22.659 a musical trend. She never tried to add new jack 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:25.879 swing drums in the 90s or auto -tune in the 2000s. 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:28.460 She just sounded like Sade. Great. So to rappers 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:30.299 and producers who pride themselves on artistic 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.840 integrity and navigating the gritty realities 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:35.519 of the industry on their own terms, she became 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:38.019 the ultimate symbol of unwavering commitment 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:40.779 to self. It's almost like she is the coolest 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:42.799 person in the room, exactly, because she's not 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:45.360 trying to be. She isn't looking around to see 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:48.220 what everyone else is doing. She's entirely self 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:50.620 -contained. Perfectly said. And that self -containment 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:52.700 extends deep into her personal life too, which 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:55.620 is full of these incredibly striking contrasts. 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.720 We talked about her massive success, but back 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.679 in the 1980s, before the breakthrough, she and 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:04.039 her boyfriend were literally squatting in an 00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.120 abandoned building in Tottenham trying to make 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:09.470 ends meet. Wow. Fast forward and she is making 00:15:09.470 --> 00:15:12.070 rare public appearances at Buckingham Palace 00:15:12.070 --> 00:15:17.059 to receive an OBE and later a CBE. And for listeners 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:19.620 outside the UK or unfamiliar with the honor system, 00:15:20.179 --> 00:15:23.080 the OBE Order of the British Empire and the CBE 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:24.860 Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:27.860 these are massive national honors bestowed by 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.200 the monarch. Yeah, it's a huge deal. You're officially 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.779 being recognized as a foundational pillar of 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:35.679 British arts and culture. So going from squatting 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:38.679 in Tannam to being decorated by royalty is a 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:41.220 breathtaking trajectory. And throughout all of 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.899 this, her lyrical focus has remained remarkably 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:47.279 consistent. As the New Yorker aptly noted, her 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:49.940 songs focus on the heavier lifting inside love, 00:15:50.299 --> 00:15:53.480 commitment, consistency, friendship. Yes. While 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.100 modern pop music often obsesses over the toxic 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:59.460 or fleeting or explosive phases of infatuation, 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:02.679 Saad writes about steadfast devotion, mature 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:05.580 love. And we've actually seen the ultimate real 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:07.639 -world manifestation of that devotion recently. 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:10.600 Yes, we have. In 2016, on National Coming Out 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:13.700 Day, Saad's child, Isaac, came out as a transgender 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:17.139 man. And Isaac has been very open online, frequently 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:19.720 posting these profound messages, thanking his 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.659 mother for her unwavering, deeply present support 00:16:22.659 --> 00:16:25.159 by his side throughout his entire transition 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.379 process. And this leads to a truly beautiful 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:30.100 moment in the source material. In 2024, after 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:32.340 years of silence, Saad actually released a new 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:35.190 piece music. Oh Young Lion, right? Exactly. She 00:16:35.190 --> 00:16:37.909 contributed a track called Young Lion to a compilation 00:16:37.909 --> 00:16:40.690 album called Tra. This was a massive project 00:16:40.690 --> 00:16:42.789 organized by the Red Hot Organization to support 00:16:42.789 --> 00:16:45.879 transgender awareness. And the song is a tender 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:48.399 musical dedication directly to her son. Which 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.799 raises an important question about how artists 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.200 choose to use their platforms. Saeed speaks so 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:56.919 rarely. She does not give interviews. She does 00:16:56.919 --> 00:16:59.480 not post her opinions online. She doesn't do 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:01.759 the talk show circuit. She fiercely guards her 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:04.400 privacy. So you have to analyze why a woman who 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:08.140 values her silence so much chose this specific 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.640 cause to break it. Well, it perfectly aligns 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:12.599 with those lifelong lyrical themes, doesn't it? 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:16.210 She writes about unconditional devotion and this 00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:18.829 is the ultimate public display of a mother's 00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:21.269 unconditional devotion Yeah, when she does use 00:17:21.269 --> 00:17:23.809 her voice the impact is magnified a thousand 00:17:23.809 --> 00:17:27.009 times Precisely because of her usual restraint 00:17:27.009 --> 00:17:29.430 the emotional stakes are just so incredibly high 00:17:29.430 --> 00:17:31.230 because we know she doesn't do this casually 00:17:31.230 --> 00:17:33.509 That is the profound power of quiet when you 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:35.670 aren't shouting all the time people lean in to 00:17:35.670 --> 00:17:37.869 hear what you have to say They really do and 00:17:37.869 --> 00:17:40.009 the industry continues to recognize that impact 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.000 In 2023, she was invited to be inducted into 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:45.440 the Songwriters Hall of Fame. And in 2024, she 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:47.660 received a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:50.779 of Fame. Plus, she's done some recent soundtrack 00:17:50.779 --> 00:17:53.259 contributions too, like Flower of the Universe 00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:56.579 and The Big Unknown back in 2018. And there are 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:58.730 rumors. which, you know, with Psy, you always 00:17:58.730 --> 00:18:01.009 have to treat with a healthy dose of skepticism 00:18:01.009 --> 00:18:03.150 given her timeline. Of course. But there are 00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:06.250 strong rumors of a new album in progress. The 00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:08.789 band reportedly spent a couple of weeks in 2022 00:18:08.789 --> 00:18:11.750 at the legendary Miraval Studios in the south 00:18:11.750 --> 00:18:14.849 of France. Oh, wow. And that is a deeply historic 00:18:14.849 --> 00:18:16.970 space for them as they were returning there for 00:18:16.970 --> 00:18:19.529 the first time since they recorded parts of Promise 00:18:19.529 --> 00:18:22.049 and Stronger Than Pride back in the 80s. I just 00:18:22.049 --> 00:18:24.829 find myself in genuine awe of how elegantly she 00:18:24.829 --> 00:18:27.710 navigates fame. Just imagine Imagine the sheer 00:18:27.710 --> 00:18:30.250 unadulterated discipline it takes to hold back, 00:18:30.569 --> 00:18:32.869 to wait, and to only speak when you truly have 00:18:32.869 --> 00:18:35.009 something to say. It is a discipline most people 00:18:35.009 --> 00:18:38.190 simply do not possess, let alone global superstars 00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:40.609 who have entire corporate teams begging them 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:43.690 for new material. She essentially built an entire 00:18:43.690 --> 00:18:46.849 universe on her own terms, inviting us in only 00:18:46.849 --> 00:18:49.069 when the work was completely ready, and shutting 00:18:49.069 --> 00:18:51.609 the door when it was time to live her life. She 00:18:51.609 --> 00:18:53.529 showed the world that you don't have to surrender 00:18:53.529 --> 00:18:56.470 your humanity or your privacy or your peace of 00:18:56.470 --> 00:19:00.029 mind to achieve immortality in art. You can keep 00:19:00.029 --> 00:19:02.029 your life for yourself and let the work stand 00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:04.410 on its own. Absolutely. It's just an incredible 00:19:04.410 --> 00:19:06.890 journey. We started this deep dive looking at 00:19:06.890 --> 00:19:09.509 an Essex fashion student making her own menswear 00:19:09.509 --> 00:19:11.869 suits, and we've tracked her path to becoming 00:19:11.869 --> 00:19:15.329 a record -breaking, genre -defying global icon. 00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:18.069 Someone who commands the deep respect of everyone 00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:21.309 from Buckingham Palace to hip -hop royalty simply 00:19:21.309 --> 00:19:24.190 by refusing to compromise her vision. Which brings 00:19:24.190 --> 00:19:26.190 us back to where we started with a thought I 00:19:26.190 --> 00:19:28.849 really want to leave you with. If Saad built 00:19:28.849 --> 00:19:31.549 one of the most powerful and enduring legacies 00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:34.730 in modern pop culture through mystery, restraint, 00:19:35.009 --> 00:19:37.549 and a complete refusal to overshare. It really 00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:39.789 makes you wonder about our modern obsession with 00:19:39.789 --> 00:19:43.089 digital visibility. Exactly. Are we actually 00:19:43.089 --> 00:19:46.269 diluting our own personal power by putting everything 00:19:46.269 --> 00:19:49.210 on display? What would happen if you stopped 00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:51.910 broadcasting every minor victory and setback? 00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:54.430 That's a great question. What if you took a Saad 00:19:54.430 --> 00:19:56.730 -style hiatus from proving yourself to the world? 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:59.680 Maybe, by stepping back, guarding your energy, 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:02.180 and cultivating your own white whale of a mystery, 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:04.539 you'd finally find the clarity you've been looking 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:04.859 for.