Kelela Covers Sade’s “Like a Tattoo”: Listen

Kelela has shared a new cover of Sade’s “Like a Tattoo.” The song arrives as a close-out of Amazon Music’s Black History Month campaign. Listen to Kelela’s “Like a Tattoo” cover below. (Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.)

In a press release, Kelela shared a brief statement about “Like a Tattoo”:

This is by far my favorite Sade song, and one of my favorite songs ever written. I started rinsing it when I was in high school and it’s been a template for intimate music in my life ever since. I love songs that aren’t self-focused, and in this one, she empathizes with a stranger in deep regret. A confessional masterpiece. I only hope I can do it justice.

Sade Adu and her mononymic band last released new material in 2018 with “The Big Unknown,” a one-off contribution to Steve McQueen’s film Widows. Sade said they’ve been working on an album at Miraval Studios in France, a studio co-owned by Brad Pitt. Sade Adu was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in January for her work at the front of the band.

Kelela released her second album, Raven, on February 10, chasing it with a new video for the album track “Enough for Love.” At the end of March, she’ll join Res and KeiyaA in a performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of a programming series curated by Solange Knowles.

Read Pitchfork’s Sunday Review of Sade’s Love Deluxe, the album that houses “Like a Tattoo.”