Sade Adu is a British-Nigerian artist. She has won many musical awards from all over the world as well as being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for all of her hard work in music.

In her song “Smooth Operator” from her album “Diamond Life” the africanisms present are polyrhythms (sax, bass, drums) and pitch inflection. The meaning of this song is simple, it is a song of one’s heartbreak. A song about a sly guy who enjoys playing with one’s heart. The song shows presence of soul music because it is a song from the heart and the way it is song seems true and not theatrical.

The genre of soul comes from a combination of gospel music, rhythm and blues and jazz. You can get a strong feel of the aspect of jazz from Sade’s song due to the importance of the saxophone. The purpose of soul was to create music with a meaning, the meaning did not have to connect with the audience personally, but with the artist. Soul music is huge on emotional honesty and voice intensity. Just like the blues, soul music performances hit home to a lot of people, it was relatable music. That is why Sade Adu’s music is for the most part seen as soul music, she sings about her personal life experiences. I enjoy and believe others also enjoy soul music because of the different emotions you can get from it. I’m sure there is a soul song for every mood one can feel. It is great music to help one work through there emotions and feelings. 

By: Toluwanimi Araromi