21 Rap, R&B & Afrobeats Songs That Sample & Interpolate Sade 

Rema’s “Baby (Is It a Crime)” samples Sade’s “Is It a Crime” from the band’s 1985 sophomore album Promise. Her sultry chorus — “Is it a crime?/ Is it a crime?/ That I still want you/ And I want you to want me, too” — plays in the beginning of Rema’s track, while the titular hook is heard throughout “Baby (Is It a Crime).” “Is It a Crime” reached No. 32 on Adult Contemporary and No. 55 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. “I’m a huge fan of Sade. I like the peace her vocals give me. I was just in the studio, and I talked to my boy like, ‘Let’s see how we sample some of her stuff,’” he told Complex on the 2025 Grammys red carpet. “Played around with a couple of stuff until we found this one.”

Lil Baby‘s “Real Spill” from his 2022 album It’s Only Me samples Sade’s “The Big Unknown” single, from the 2018 neo-noir film Widows. Baby kicks off “Real Spill,” which hit No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, with a pitched-up rendition of Sade’s first verse — “Only love could bring us/ Bring us to this bitter plane” — and ends his song with the consecutive lyrics of her verse: “Only one of us/ Who’s gonna walk away?/ Here in the deep below/ That only darkness really knows.”

Alicia Keys‘ 2021 single “Best of Me” samples “Cherish the Day” from Sade’s 1992 album Love Deluxe. The atmospheric, slow-burning groove of “Cherish the Day” underlines “Best of Me,” which hit the top 10 of Adult R&B Airplay (No. 8). “Cherish the Day” reached No. 23 on Dance Singles Sales and No. 45 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. “I sent her the song to get her blessing on it and she wrote me the most beautiful words. SHE, who I adore, adored me back. There is a beautiful validation in that. I don’t need to be validated but it sure does feel good from someone you have loved since a little girl, like I have of her!” Keys wrote on Instagram while promoting “Best of Me” at the time. She also performed alongside Sade at the former’s seventh annual Keep a Child Alive Black Ball in NYC in 2010.

Burna Boy’s “Time Flies,” featuring Sauti Sol, from his 2020 Grammy-winning album Twice As Tall interpolates “The Sweetest Taboo” from Sade’s Promise. “Time Flies” borrows the groovy drum sequence from “The Sweetest Taboo,” which hit No. 5 on the Hot 100 and topped Adult Contemporary.

T.I.‘s “The Amazing Mr. F**k Up,” featuring Victoria Monét, from his 2018 album Dime Trap samples Sade’s “It’s Only Love That Gets You Through” from the band’s 2005 Grammy-winning album Lovers Rock. Monét adopts Sade’s solemn yet soulful cadence throughout the song but flips her original verse — “It’s amazing how you love/ And love is kind and love can give and love needs no gain” — for her and T.I.’s even more somber chorus: “It’s amazing how/ You hurt me so/ How could you do this again?” Six years later, Monét covered Sade’s “Love is Stronger Than Pride” on the deluxe version of her Grammy-winning album Jaguar II.

Nipsey Hussle’s James Fauntleroy-featuring “If U Were Mine,” from his 2013 mixtape Crenshaw, samples “Cherish the Day.” The title of Hussle’s track is derived from the first verse of Sade’s classic, which is pitched up for the chorus of “If U Were Mine,” with Fauntleroy singing along: “If you were mine/ The way that I move/ And I breathe your air/ You only can….” A sped-up version of the airy melody of “Cherish the Day” also underscores “If U Were Mine.”

Dawn Richard‘s “Scripture” from her 2012 EP Armor On samples Sade’s “Pearls” from Love Deluxe. “Scripture” borrows the breathy “Hallelujah/ Hallelujah” bridge from “Pearls.”

Drake‘s 2012 track “Free Spirit,” featuring Rick Ross, samples Sade’s “I Will Be Your Friend” from Diamond Life. “Free Spirit” producer Noah “40” Shebib loops the snazzy horn of “I Will Be Your Friend” in “Free Spirit,” which was re-released as part of Drake’s 2019 compilation album Care Package.

Tyga‘s “Involved,” from his 2011 mixtape Black Thoughts 2 samples “Pearls,” from Sade’s Love Deluxe. “Involved” speeds up the swelling string arrangement from “Pearls.”

Curren$y‘s “Famous,” from his 2010 album Pilot Talk, samples Sade’s “Sally” from Diamond Life. “Famous” producer MonstaBeatz loops the smooth saxophone riffs from “Sally.”

Nipsey Hussle’s “Good For Me” from his 2009 mixtape Bullets Ain’t Got No Name, Vol. 3.1 samples “The Sweetest Taboo.” “Good For Me” borrows the groovy drum sequence from “The Sweetest Taboo” and lifts the chorus throughout the song: “You give me the sweetest taboo/ That’s why I’m in love with you (with you)/ You give me the sweetest taboo/ Sometimes I think you’re just too good for me.”

MF DOOM’s “Kon Karne” from his 2004 album MM..FOOD samples Sade’s “Is It a Crime” from the band’s album Promise. MF DOOM loops the playful piano chords from “Is It a Crime,” and he chops up her “My love is” lyric twice in “Kon Karne.”

Snoop Dogg’s “Perfect,” featuring Charlie Wilson, from his 2004 album R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece interpolates Sade’s “Smooth Operator” from Diamond Life. Snoop adopts Sade’s “Coast-to-coast, L.A. to Chicago” post-chorus from “Smooth Operator,” which topped Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart and hit No. 5 on both the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, in his second verse.

Ashanti‘s “Rescue,” from her 2002 Grammy-winning eponymous debut album samples “Cherish the Day.” The song’s producers, the late Irv Gotti and 7 Aurelius, loop the limber guitar riff from “Cherish the Day” on “Rescue Me,” which also samples another classic at the start: Michael Jackson‘s “Smooth Criminal.”

MF DOOM’s “Doomsday,” featuring Pebbles the Invisible Girl, from his 1999 debut album Operation: Doomsday samples Sade’s “Kiss of Life” from Love Deluxe. “Doomsday” lifts the sweet, smooth jazz melody of “Kiss of Life,” which hit No. 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 20 on Adult Contemporary. And Pebbles the Invisible Girl interpolates Sade’s second verse — “When I was led to you/ I knew you were the one for me/ I swear the whole world could feel my heartbeat” — in the intro but flips the end by singing, “feel you, MC.” Erykah Badu sang Pebbles the Invisible Girl’s part at Camp Flog Gnaw last November during the MF DOOM Tribute.

Snoop Dogg’s “B–ch Please,” featuring Xzibit and Nate Dogg, from his 1999 album No Limit Top Dogg interpolates “Smooth Operator” from Sade’s Diamond Life. Snoop adopts Sade’s “Coast-to-coast, L.A. to Chicago” post-chorus in his second verse.

E-40‘s “Million Dollar Spot,” featuring 2pac and B-Legit, from his 1996 album Tha Hall of Game interpolates Sade’s “Mr. Wrong” from Promise. “Million Dollar Spot” producers Mike Mosley and Femi Ojetunde lift Sade’s scatting from the beginning of “Mr. Wrong” throughout the song. 

LL Cool J‘s “Pap Luv It,” from the deluxe edition of his 1995 album Mr. Smith, samples “Is It a Crime” from Sade’s Promise. “Papa Luv It” producers LL and Ty Fyffe loop the sensuous, shuffling groove of “Is It a Crime.”