Sade's is dropping her first new song in years—and it's a tribute to her trans son

Jazz-pop singer-songwriter Sade is releasing her first new song since 2018, and it’s in honor of her trans son, Izaak, on an album dedicated to transgender awareness.

The song, “Young Lion,” will be on the compilation album Transa, out November 22 from the Red Hot Organization, Variety reports. The album will feature some trans and nonbinary artists in addition to spotlighting the trans population in general.

“We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world, and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts,” Red Hot Executive Director Dust Reid, who assembled Transa with artist Massima Bell, told Variety. “We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and nonbinary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or nonbinary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.”

The last time Sade released new songs was for two movie soundtracks in 2018 — “Flower of the Universe” and “The Big Unknown” for A Wrinkle in Time and Widows, respectively. Her last album was Soldier of Love in 2010.

Izaak came out as trans in 2016 and underwent gender-confirmation surgery in 2019. He has publicly thanked his mother for her support.

Transa features more than 100 artists making three and a half hours of music, 46 songs divided among eight chapters. There are some covers and some originals. The artists include Sam Smith, André 3000, Jeff Tweedy, and the duo of Wendy & Lisa, best known for their work with Prince. The first single from the album is Wendy & Lisa’s cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 You,” on which they’re joined by Lauren Auder.