Emerging singer Alex Isley and Grammy-nominated producer and artist Terrace Martin have teamed up to cover Sade’s 1988 classic “Paradise.” It arrives with a music video directed by Child.
With an effortlessly cool and ethereal quality, Martin and Isley’s rendition of a signature song is tender and smooth, making it an instant classic for their generation.
In 1988, Sade released “Paradise” as the second single from their third album, Stronger Than Pride. The song topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (previously known as the Hot Black Singles chart) for one week, making it the band’s first and only number one hit on that chart.
Circling back to Martin and Isley’s version, “Paradise” is the first offering from their forthcoming untitled collaborative album, set to release this fall via Sounds of Crenshaw in partnership with BMG.
Martin has been very active this year, releasing a number of projects, most recently the six-track EP Nova, which he made in collaboration with James Fauntleroy.
Prior to that, he released two projects in quick succession – Fine Tune and Curly. The former includes a feature from Isley, as well as Martin’s rendition of SZA’s hit single “Snooze,” which was originally included in her monster album SOS.
In April, Martin reunited with Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder, and Kamasi Washington to release Enigmatic Society under their supergroup Dinner Party. They supported the project at Coachella.
“Paradise” is Isley’s third collaborative track this year, which included the father-daughter track “Brown Eyed Girl” featuring her dad, Ernie Isley, and “Back To Love” with SiR.
Isley previously recorded “I Want You But You’ll Never Know,” a 2022 song led by Rory that features DRAM. It appears on Rory’s debut album, I Thought It’d Be Different, released in May.
Isley’s latest collaborative album, Marigold, with frequent producer Jack Dine, reached No. 1 on iTunes’ R&B Albums chart when it was released in March 2022.
Regarding the album, Isley told Rated R&B in 2022, “It’s a lot of reflecting on this album. This album reflects memories — some pleasant and some not so pleasant.”
Marigold was among Rated R&B’s 30 Best R&B Albums of 2022 list.
Listen to Terrace Martin and Alex Isley’s new song “Paradise” below.
