Turns out, when No I.D. premiered Sade’s “Flower In the Universe” this week, it was actually a remix. Today (March 7) Walt Disney Records released both the original version for A Wrinkle In Time, as well as No I.D.’s take, to streaming services.
The acoustic original features Andrew Hale, one of Sade’s bandmates from the past 35 years. It is also exactly what we’ve come to expect of the influential singer: sophisticated and unhurried. By comparison, No I.D., last heard on Jay Z’s 4:44, literally provides a change of pace with both his organic and electronic percussion.
Sade last contributed an original song to a film in 1986, for rock musical Absolute Beginners. Her last album, aside from 2011 hits compilation The Ultimate Hits, was 2010’s Soldier Of Love. She didn’t seem in any hurry to return to the spotlight. But that didn’t stop A Wrinkle In Time director Ava DuVernay from reaching out.
“She was kind and giving. A goddess. We began a journey together that I’ll never forget,” DuVernay tweeted to announce Sade’s contribution. She elaborates on that journey in a press release, saying, “My creative partnership with Sade on ‘Flower Of The Universe’ was so connected that I reverse engineered the usual process and used her lyrics as actual dialogue within the film.”
Listen to the original “Flower Of The Universe” version up top. Below, revisit No I.D.’s remix.
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