Sade’s first new song since 2018 is set to appear on a new 46-track compilation from the New York-based not-for-profit label Red Hot.
TRAИƧA takes in contributions from more than 100 artists, and aims to celebrate trans artists and people. It has been pieced together across the last three years, with Sade’s contribution, ‘Young Lion’, being dedicated to her son, Izaak, who identifies as trans.
Elsewhere, the compilation takes in work from Moor Mother, L’Rain, Grouper, Kelela, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, André 3000, Mary Lattimore, Laraaji, Ana Roxanne, Jlin, Perfume Genius, Claire Rousay, Lyra Pramuk and Alan Sparhawk of Low, among many others.
The project was conceived by Dust Reid, who oversaw Red Hot’s 2014 tribute release to Arthur Russell, and Massima Bell, a Los Angeles-based artist and activist. In a statement, Bell said: “The stakes have never been higher. We’re seeing a rise in anti-trans hate and vitriol that is particularly being spewed in the United States. I am a trans person from Iowa, one of the states that signed into law a bill that prohibits access to gender-affirming care. It is clearly, materially, a terrifying time.”
To mark the announcement of TRAИƧA, Red Hot has shared the lead track, a cover of Prince’s ‘I Would Die 4 U’ by Wendy & Lisa of Prince’s former band The Revolution in collaboration with London-based singer Lauren Auder. You can listen to it below.
Speaking about the collaboration, Auder said in a press statement: “As most of us are, or will one day become, I am a huge Prince fan. I listened to him exclusively for a whole year aged 13; his songs and his flare have become part of my musical DNA. When it came to covering songs, I knew I wanted to challenge myself and take on one of his.
“The lyrics to ‘I Would Die 4 U’ feel so potent and open-ended, up for interpretation, but an unconditional message of holding and support shines through. Getting Wendy & Lisa who sang on the original to accompany me through this version has been one of the proudest moments in my musical career and I am so glad to be sharing this via Red Hot.”
Red Hot will release TRAИƧA on November 22, 2024.
