New York Daily News: MANHATTAN, NY – It’s a long way from Motown.
Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder said he’s permanently ditching America for the tropical climes of Ghana, located on Africa’s western coast.
The 70-year-old pop star made the stunning admission during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in late 2020, that is only now gaining traction.
“I want to see this nation smile again,” said Wonder. “And I want to see it before I travel to move to Ghana because I’m going to do that.”
Winfrey, slightly startled by the concession, then asks for his reasons for moving.
“I don’t want to see my children’s children’s children have to say, ‘Oh, please like me. Please respect me, please know that I am important, please value me.’ What kind of s— is that?” explained the Michigan-born star.
But Wonder has threatened to bolt to Africa before, as far back as the mid-1970s, noted the Detroit Free Press: “Stevie Wonder Plans to Move to Africa” read a headline inside the newspaper’s March 15, 1974, edition.
At the time, Wonder was preparing to compose his landmark double album “Songs in the Key of Life,” which produced the No. 1 singles “Sir Duke” and “I Wish.”
He also stated in that 1974 interview that Ghana’s president at the time had offered him some land.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day last month, Wonder recorded a video letter to the slain civil-rights leader in which me mentioned the nation’s woeful ability to advance racial equality.
“It is painful to know that the needle has not moved one iota,” explained Wonder in the video posted on his Twitter account. “For 36 years, we’ve had a national holiday honoring your birthday and principles, yet you would not believe the lack of progress. It makes me physically sick. I am sick of politicians trying to find an easy solution to a 400-year-old problem.”
- Top Feature Photo: Stevie Wonder, shown in this 2020 photo, told Oprah Winfrey late last year that he intended to move to Ghana – JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images