Stevie Wonder is God

After years of being apart, I have finally been reunited with Stevie Wonder’s Hotter Than July album (it had been in my brother’s car for two years). Since the reunion, I’ve been on a hopeless Stevie Wonder kick, pulling out every Stevie Wonder CD I own. I’m reminded of a philosophy course I took a long time ago. The professor was giving an example of false logic, or something like that. But his example was this:

God is love,
Love is blind,
Stevie Wonder is blind,
Therefore Stevie Wonder is god.

Stevie Wonder’s musical genius, his cleaver and brilliant lyrics, his soulful voice, and his heart of gold reinforces my contention that rap and hip-hop “music” were the worst things to ever happen to African-American (American in general) culture. How many African-American kids know that Coolio’s “Gangsta Paradise” rap was cannibalized form Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” song?

Here are the lyrics for Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise":

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there's not much left
coz I've been blastin and laughin so long,
that even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
but I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
me be treated like a punk you know that's unheard of
you better watch how you're talking,
and where you're walking
or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
I really hate to trip but i gotta, loc
As I Grow I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool
I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like on my knees in the night,
saying prayers in the streetlight

been spending most their lives,
living in the gangsta's paradise
been spending most their lives,
living in the gangsta's paradise
keep spending most our lives,
living in the gangsta's paradise
keep spending most our lives,
living in the gangsta's paradise

They got the situation, they got me facin'
I can't live a normal life,
I was raised by the stripes so I gotta be down with the hood team
too much television watching got me chasing dreams
I'm an educated fool with money on my mind
got my 10 in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I'm a loc'd out gangsta set trippin' banger
and my homies is down so don't arouse my anger,
fool death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away,
I'm living life, do or die, what can I say
I'm 23 now, but will I live to see 24
the way things are going I don't know

Chorus:

Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the one's we hurt, are you and me
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise

Power and the money, money and the power
minute after minute, hour after hour
everybody's running, but half of them ain't looking
what's going on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's kickin'
they say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me
if they can't understand it, how can they reach me
I guess they can't, I guess they won't
I guess they front, that's why I know my life is out of luck,

fool been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise

Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the one's we hurt, are you and me
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the one's we hurt, are you and me (fade out)

And here are Stevie's original lyrics:

They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been wasting most their time
Glorifying days long gone behind
They've been wasting most their days
In remembrance of ignorance oldest praise

Tell me who of them will come to be
How many of them are you and me
Dissipation
Race Relations
Consolation
Segregation
Dispensation
Isolation
Exploitation
Mutilation
Mutations
Miscreation
Confirmation...to the evils of the world

They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
They've been looking in their minds
For the day that sorrows gone from time
They keep telling of the day
When the Savior of love will come to stay
Tell me who of them will come to be
How many of them are you and me
Proclamation of
Race Relations
Consolation
Integretion
Verification of
Revelations
Acclamation
World Salvation
Vibrations
Stimulation
Confirmation...to the peace of the world

They've been spending most their
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a pastime paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
They've been spending most their lives
Living in a future paradise
We've been spending too much of our lives
Living in a pastime paradise
Let's start living our lives
Living for the future paradise
Praise to our lives
Living for the future paradise
Shame to anyone who lives
Living in the pastime paradise

Wonder's lyrics make you think. They are philosophical. To me, his song is about living your life in the now and not wasting time remembering the past or waiting hopelessly for a messianic age, or heaven. I am sure there is more to the song than my take, if my take is even accurate. The point is, however, that his lyrics get me thinking and pondering things. Plus, Wonder has a fantastic voice backed by originally composed music.

Coolio's lyrics, on the other hand, leave about as much to the imagination as a hard-core porno movie. The main melody of the "song" was borrowed from Wonder, and little if any musicianship went into its creation.