For artist Ivan Vazquez, Sade’s music was a mainstay alongside the hip-hop music he was listeningto as a young dancer in the Chicago breaking scene.
It was common for him to hear hip-hop artists mention the Nigerian-born British singer in lyrics or sample her music. And he remembers purchasing her 1984 debut album, “Diamond Life,” for just 99 cents at a local thrift store.
“She’s amazing,” said Vazquez, 42, of the North Side, who painted a mural of Sade last year at West Fullerton and North Hamlin Avenues in Logan Square. “Her talent is amazing. Personally, I think it’s a natural talent. It almost seems like she just talk-sings. She’s just unapologetically her. What inspires me is somebody who’s just themselves and doesn’t care what anybody else thinks.”
Vazquez isn’t the only one inspired. In celebration of the singer’s 66th birthday on Jan. 16, two Hyde Park businesses hosted “Sade Day” on Saturday. At the Silver Room shop, fans purchased Sade-themed shirts, coasters, buttons, hats, prints and more from multiple vendors. Down the street, at Connect Gallery, Vazquez showcased acrylic paintings and digital prints from his Sade collection, “Queen of Diamonds.”
At both locations, Sade and her namesake band’s soothing blend of soul, jazz and pop flowed from the sound system.
Vazquez and others were united in their appreciation for the singer’s musicianship, beauty and message of love.
“You listen to her sultry voice, and then she just penetrates your soul,” said Naila Berry, 33, of Bronzeville, who purchased a coaster from the Silver Room. “My parents would play her consistently. Probably by the time I was 5, I was super familiar with her sound.”
Shon Dorn, of Hyde Park, associates the singer with a “core memory” from early motherhood: she had her son a day before Sade’s song “No Ordinary Love” was released.
“I think you have to give people their flowers while they’re still here,” Dorn said, explaining her appreciation for “Sade Day.”
“I just believe there’s not enough love in the world anymore. And I feel like this unites us. Music transcends time and cultures.”
That was the case for Mexican American artist Ivan Vazquez, also known as “the Chicago Lago,” who incorporates his heritage in some of his Sade art. One piece, titled “La Sade,” depicts the singer as the mermaid she portrayed in the “No Ordinary Love” video, while paying homage to the La Sirena character in the Mexican card game “Loteria.”
Last year, he painted his Sade mural on the wall of Omarcito’s Latin Cafe. The singer is shown wearing bright pink and blue colors against a geometric background that is a common feature of Vazquez’s work.
“It was my first huge mural on a major street,” he said. “And it was during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade weekend. That was so much fun.”
Vazquez also hosts an annual Sade dance party at different locations in the city.
Though he gravitated toward art at an early age, he took a long break when his friend Luis Trueba was fatally shot.
“From 17 to 30, I didn’t really believe in anything,” Vazquez said. “I didn’t really process what happened. I just locked it away and pretended it didn’t happen.”
But discovering an old picture of his friend inspired him to return to his passion, which he said has allowed him to heal and talk to others about trauma. His Sade work aside, he specializes in contemporary Mexican American art, some of which features characters in masks associated with the Aztecs and other indigenous cultures.
“It’s a really amazing feeling to turn something so horrible into something so beautiful,” he said. “Art really helps. It worked for me. I think it will work for others.”
Rob McKay, co-owner of Connect Gallery, praised Vazquez’s art for its “serene” quality.
“The work feels like it was produced in a calm state,” he said.
McKay also said he didn’t hesitate when Silver Room owner Eric Williams suggested they host “Sade Day.”
“Sade is an icon,” he said. “Everybody loves Sade. I don’t think you can find somebody who said they don’t like at least a song.”
Williams said he became a fan when he saw Sade perform live in the early 1990s. He is pleased with the support for “Sade Day.”
“I’m happy that people have embraced it,” he said. “Especially in this crazy time that we’re living in right now, someone like her brings this peacefulness I think we need. And it’s a very uplifting message. So, it’s perfect timing.”