To paraphrase my fellow native Too Short, in the '80s, our beloved Oakland was the right damn town in which to get killed. It's that my friends are all working plans - collecting diplomas or selling dope or both - while performing nonchalance. It's that the news keeps saying 'Reaganomics' and I can't afford the good college I got myself into. Or a partner who will call because he likes to and because he said he would. It's that I don't know if I'll ever have a job that pays more than survival coin. It's not just the boy with his long lashes and fast car and ability to compartmentalize. Even the album's title feels coded: It would be beautiful to shine bright, but I want to feel indestructible.Д«ecause things are falling apart. Haven't I told you before, she sings: We're hungry for a life we can't afford. This is 1986, and though Sade's second album, Promise, is everywhere, I crave the multiple entendres of Diamond's 'Cherry Pie.' There's grit - 'Sally,' 'Frankie's First Affair' - in the way Sade names names. The twirling cassette, from a girl named Sade, is called Diamond Life. I am abandoned and loudness is a weighted blanket. My head is between a landline and my booming system. I am jealous of his freedom yet refuse to leave my neatly made secondhand mattress. The boy who had just as much sex with me as I with him has no decision in his belly, and he hasn't called. There is no clue as to what next Tuesday will bring, let alone the rest of this one, when the Challenger explodes every minute on the mute TV. When I am near 21, and poor, and pregnant. I've tried to say how it was, in those boombox times. The artist released her fifth album, Lovers Rock, in November 2000. ItвЂ™s that poignant clarity that captures what makes вЂњLove Is Stronger Than PrideвЂќ so powerfulВ - a triumphant cry of acceptance and moving on.Sade performs live at New Jersey's PNC Bank Arts Center in 2001. вЂњItвЂ™s all too clear things come and go,вЂќ she sings toward the end of the song. Accompanied by softly-strummed acoustic guitar and earthy sounds, SadeвЂ™s lyrics feel comforting and strong. She has accepted that this love she invested in has come to an end and that she still loves this person, but she has her own life to live. The вЂњ IвЂ™m good luv, enjoyвЂќ of Sade songs. вЂњLove Is Stronger Than PrideвЂќ is what it sounds like when youвЂ™ve risen above the bullshit. A sentiment thatвЂ™s all too fucking real if youвЂ™ve ever experienced it before. ItвЂ™s a quiet storm diss trackВ - the вЂњMarvins RoomвЂќ before вЂњMarvins Room.вЂќ ItвЂ™s the last attempt at salvaging something, or maybe the last attempt at feelingВ something that sheвЂ™s so familiar with but knows it has come to an end. Who elseвЂ™s love is wider than the Victoria Lake or taller than the Empire State? No one but SadeвЂ™s. If anything itвЂ™s a sequel to вЂњNo Ordinary Love.вЂќ Sade couldnвЂ™t give one fuck that this man has lied to her or that heвЂ™s seeing someone else. Now I know what youвЂ™re thinking: вЂњвЂIs It A CrimeвЂ™ over вЂNo Ordinary Love?вЂ™ She literally says вЂI keep cryingвЂ™ in the latter.вЂќ вЂњNo Ordinary LoveвЂќ is obviously a tear-jerker but вЂњIs It A CrimeвЂќ is tragic. ItвЂ™s a question that punctuates her declarationsВ - a sign that this love truly meant so much to her and still does. вЂњDidnвЂ™t I give you/All that IвЂ™ve got to give, baby?вЂќ Sade croons in the trackвЂ™s pre-chorus. Even now, as their relationship has presumably come to an end, heвЂ™s taking. She gave and gave and gave, and he took and took and took. вЂњI gave you all the love I got/I gave you more than I could give.вЂќ This is how Sade starts off one of her saddest songs of all time. That uncertainty hangs over вЂњHang on to Your LoveвЂќ and adds a melancholy that stays with you until the very end. Sade conveys a frustration in this track as she sings вЂњIn heavenвЂ™s name why do you play these games,вЂќ but wants to persevere through it allВ - even if her partner doesnвЂ™t seem to feel the same way. Similar to вЂњNever as Good as the First Time,вЂќ вЂњHang on to Your LoveвЂќ has an upbeat feel that contrasts the lyrics.

Music by sade songs