The great American singer-songwriter and pianist Stevie Wonder declared with absolute determination that he was moving to Ghana to live the rest of his life.
The now 70-year-old artist, whom most R&B artists and even pop singers have revered as an inspiration for decades, hinted at this to Oprah Winfrey in an episode of “Oprah Conversations. And he said that once he makes that move to the homeland, he won’t be coming back.
The 25-time Grammy Award winner said he had grown tired of the United States’ infuriating reluctance to accept that all its citizens are treated equally, and that he preferred to move to a place where he would be respected and feel welcome. The director of “I just called to say I love you” said he couldn’t watch his great-grandchildren beg for respect and recognition.
I want to see the nation smile again, and I want to see it before I move to Ghana,” he told Oprah. “I’m going to do that. I’m going to make it. I’m going to make Ghana my permanent home… There’s a greater sense of community there.
Stevie Wonder
He added: “I want the world to get better. I want us to move beyond this place. I want us all to go to the funeral of hate. That’s what I want. »
Oprah Winfrey seemed to need a second to digest what Wonder had just announced.
Already in 1994, Stevie Wonder declared that he wanted to leave Los Angeles for Ghana. Speaking at the time to the International African American Music Association in Washington, D.C., he said he fell in love with Ghana during his visits.
Wonder has been reflecting for decades on the evolution of that West African country. Wonder swore to the International African American Music Association in 1994 that he would eventually move to Ghana because the country has a “sense of community.