The reason Sade rejected a collaboration with Jay-Z
Most artists would jump at the opportunity to collaborate with Jay-Z. Not only is he still the wealthiest hip-hop artist in the world, but he is also arguably the most well-known hip-hop face on the planet. That said, only a handful of musicians have ever rejected an offer or avoided the possibility entirely.
Moreover, Jay-Z himself wanted to work with certain artists but never got the chance, and one of those artists was the soul icon, Sade. The Brooklyn legend once reached out to the vocalist. However, at the time she declined the offer, but now she regrets it.
Many hip-hop MCs from the 1980s and early ‘90s consider Sade to be a legendary figure. The singer was one of the most influential contemporary artists of her generation in that genre. Before Beyoncé, Sade was topping the charts with her silky vocals.
Many MCs would have loved to work with her. However, she was such a star that some were too scared. That said, Snoop Dogg had the opportunity to meet Sade at one of her shows but was too afraid to speak to her.
In an interview with hip-hop media outlet TMZ, Snoop once explained, “I went to her concert; I went to see her perform on time. I went with Heavy D and LL Cool J. She had all these visual effects where she disappeared, and she was in the top of the sky. She was [amazing]. They were like, ‘You wanna go meet her?’ I was like, ‘Uh uh.’ I was too nervous!”
However, Jay-Z wasn’t scared and expressed interest in making music with her, but she said that she has avoided working with hip-hop artists due to her insecurities, explaining to the LA Times, “I’m too scared. They’ll find me out. It’s like The Wizard of Oz. They’ll find out there’s nothing there. As for collaborations, I’m collaborating with the band and do what we do. I see myself as a member of this band who does these songs that we write.”
Concerning Jay-Z’s offer, she has since come to the realisation that the decision she made was wrong, and if she could go back, she would put him on one particular track. During her conversation with the newspaper, she detailed, “If I could turn back time? I would have asked Jay-Z to rap on ‘Soldier of Love’ in 2010. There’s not much else I would change. The mistakes I’ve made have made me grow braver.”
Although she has mainly avoided rap, Sade does like it and in an episode of The Tom Joyner Show unveiled, “I like songs with sort of more heavy rap. I like Raekwon’s album, you know from the Wu-Tang Clan. I listen to just about anything that speaks to me, and anything that’s sort of got a bit of soul and a bit of real feeling in it.” Unfortunately Raekwon never approached her.