Story at a glance
- Stevie Wonder is a Grammy-winning artist whose career has spanned more than half a century.
- Wonder released two new songs addressing the movement for racial justice and equality.
- The singer and songwriter also announced he would be leaving Motown records.
More than half a century after Stevie Wonder began writing “Where Is Our Love Song” at 18, the song has been released under a new label. A lot has changed since 1968, when cassette tapes were still new technology and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assasination led to riots across the country. But there are some uncomfortable parallels in 2020 that the legendary artist captures in his new song, “Where Is Our Love Song,” featuring the four-time Grammy winner Gary Clark, Jr. on guitar.
“It is a song that really I started working on when I was 18, not even knowing what the song was going to be about, but I had the melody. Then this year came all the confusion and all the hate and all the east versus west, left versus right,” he said during a virtual press conference. “It’s just a heartbreak. And those who say ‘This is what God has said… this is my religion,’ it’s just a lot of confusion… I’m watching all this and say, ‘Hold up, how can you be talking about God and there be hate in your spirit?’”
READ MORE LIKE THIS FROM CHANGING AMERICA
BOOKS ON RACE AND DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA BECOME BESTSELLERS
MICHELLE OBAMA OPENS UP LIKE NEVER BEFORE IN NEW NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
WASHINGTON NFL FOOTBALL TEAM TO CHANGE CONTROVERSIAL NAME, LOGO
HOW ONE PHILADELPHIA SPORTS TEAM IS HONORING BLACK LIVES TAKEN BY POLICE
This isn’t the first time the 25-time Grammy Award winner has gotten political, but in his second track, “Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate,” Wonder cuts right to the point, singing, “You say you’re sick and tired of us protesting, I say not had enough to make a change…You say you believe that ‘all lives matter,’ I say I don’t believe the f — you do.” The funk track features rappers Busta Rhymes, Rapsody, Cordae and Chika.
Wonder, who signed with Motown Records at 11, also signed a new record deal with Republic Records and launched his own imprint: So What The Fuss Music.
“Even though I have left Motown, I never leave Motown. That’s Detroit,” he said during the press conference. “So I’m sure that we can figure out how we can do some things at Motown. Maybe I’ll do my ‘Gospel Inspired by Lula’ with Motown. We’ll work it out,” referencing an album he dedicated in 2013 to his late mother.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
After undergoing a kidney transplant last year, the 70-year-old said he’s feeling “alive and well,” putting to rest rumors about his health after four years had passed since releasing new music.
“Since I have been released from the hospital, the nurses have made sure I’ve taken my medicine on time and I’m going to do it for as long as I have to, even if it is the rest of my life. I feel great. My voice feels great,” he said during the press conference. “I feel like I’m about 40 right now and I just thank everyone for the prayers and the love.”
THE LATEST ON THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
POLICE ARREST LAWMAKER WHO WROTE ‘BREONNA’S LAW’ DURING LOUISVILLE PROTESTS
WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME AFTER THROWING BOTTLE AT BLACK RUNNER
ALMOST HALF OF NFL FANS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MINDS ABOUT COLIN KAEPERNICK
CITY TO PAY $12 MILLION TO BREONNA TAYLOR’S MOM, REFORM POLICE
NEW POLL SAYS NBA RATINGS HAVE PLUNGED BECAUSE OF RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS
WHAT THE 2020 BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR
changing america copyright.
