Born Helen Folasade Adu in Ibadan, Nigeria, Sade made her mark on the world with her sophisticated blend of funk, soul, jazz, and Afro-Cuban sound. As early as she can remember, she was never addressed by the people in her community by her first name, Helen. Instead, she was called Sade, a shortened form of her middle name Folasade. At around the age of four, her parents separated, which forced her to move with her mother to Essex, England, where she was later raised.

As a teenager, Sade attended a three-year program in fashion and design at Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design in London. Her entry into music didn’t begin until she agreed to temporarily fill in as a lead singer for a funk band that her friends had put together by the name of Arriva. She later went on to break away from the group bringing along fellow band members to form a band named after her.

With best-selling songs like “Your Love is King” and “Smooth Operator,” Sade took the world by storm. She and her band later went on to earn a Grammy Award for best new artist in 1985. After this, she released one of her greatest hits, “The Sweetest Taboo,” which stayed on the American pop charts for six months.