Sade Adu to Release First Song in 6 Years as Tribute to Trans Son Izaak

Sade Adu is returning to the music scene at last.

The 65-year-old music icon is set to contribute to a new compilation called Transa, produced by Red Hot in support of the transgender and nonbinary communities, with a song called “Young Lion,” dedicated to her trans son Izaak and his journey.

“You must have felt so alone, I should have known,” Sade reportedly sings on the track via Dazed.

Keep reading to find out more…

“It’s amazing to hear a legendary musician like Sade sing about her heartfelt experience as the parent of a trans child,” says album co-producer Massima Bell. “It’s incredibly powerful.”

The album, out November 20, is reported to feature over 100 artists across 46 tracks and eight chapters, which is a nod to the eight stripes on the Pride flag. Sam Smith, André 3000 and many more artists will be featured on the compilation.

Red Hot was originally founded back in 1989 amid the AIDS epidemic, releasing the Red Hot + Blue compilation album with acts like Annie Lennox and U2, selling over a million copies worldwide and raising over $1 million for AIDS charity ACT UP.

Red Hot executive director Dust Reid says Transa was inspired by the tragic death of SOPHIE in 2021, and the compilation celebrates the “gifts that trans people have been giving to the world. We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate.”

Sade‘s last release was 2018′s “Flowers of the Universe” for A Wrinkle in Time.

Izaak also shared a heartfelt note dedicated to his mother Sade amid gender reassignment surgery.