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Stevie Wonder is a Frank Ocean Fan, Not a Homophobe

Posted by on Aug 31, 2012 in Pop | 1 comment

Lately I have had the strangest feeling...

Stevie Wonder is one of my all-time favorite musical gurus ever, and I will stand by his side no matter what. The man is a mother flipping genius, and anyone who doesn’t agree has no right to sing along to Will Smith‘s ‘Wild Wild West‘ song ever again.

Stevie was recently interviewed by The Guardian, and some of his comments regarding Frank Ocean have caused a bit of a stir:

Nevertheless, Wonder is aware of his impact, and of those who have picked up his progressive soul baton, such as Ocean. Was he surprised that there could, in 2012, be a furore at the revelation that a rapper might be gay?

“I think honestly, some people who think they’re gay, they’re confused,” he says. “People can misconstrue closeness for love. People can feel connected, they bond. I’m not saying all [gay people are confused]. Some people have a desire to be with the same sex. But that’s them.”

I hate to pull the “he was quoted out of context” card, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s the case. The blogs reporting on this story have also failed to mention this:

“Yeah, I like Frank,” says Wonder, who sang the hook from Ocean’s No Church In The Wild to the Odd Future sensation when he met him at a party recently. The feeling is mutual: reviews of Ocean’s 2012 album, Channel Orange, drew comparisons with Wonder’s music at its most expansive.

Before everyone starts to get all up in arms about this, take a moment and read the full article. While there is a healthy mention of God, (GaGa does it too!) Stevie showcases an extremely intelligent, positive, and well-informed outlook on life that deserves your attention. No matter what, you can’t deny the tremendous impact Stevie Wonder has had on modern music. Hey, Frank, how do you feel about all this?

What are your thoughts? Are you forever a Stevie fan, or a part-time lover?