Let me begin this review with a short story, one that many most likely shared in the last week. Like many others, I launched Spotify to begin a day of work, and was greeted by the cover for a new single titled Can’t Put It In The Hands Of Fate featuring artists like Rapsody, Cordae, Busta Rhymes and… Stevie Wonder? I wiped my eyes, morning coffee still kicking in, and stared blankly at my desktop’s screen.

A new Stevie Wonder song in 2020? This must’ve been one of those situations where a group of artists used an archive from the Mowtown legend’s large backlog and wrote a song around it (in the same way Sony’s been handling Michael Jackson’s backlog in the last ten years since he passed). But after giving the song a proper listen (followed by many, many more), my suspicions were very clearly dismissed: this is a true and proper new Stevie Wonder track. 

The song starts with a groovy drum beat, complimented by plenty of Latin and African percussive sparkles, all to introduce Rapsody’s verse. This verse is quickly followed by Cordae’s feature, delivered as a rap just like Rapsody’s section, and at last a voice ever so familiar begins its melody; Stevie Wonder is back. Just listening to the track brought the same excitement and anticipation as seeing the legend in person; I was sitting there waiting for it and then finally I hear his voice, through a distorted filter, but it’s still Stevie all the same. It seems like I’m downplaying the others in this wonderful song, but it’s hard to stray the focus away from the main show when it’s been so long since we’ve last had a Stevie Wonder song (his last album, A Time to Love, was released in 2005). His performance aside, blissful as it was, the others all do an incredible job putting their voices together to form what feels like a modern-day Stevie protest song, filled with socio-political lyrics reminiscent of Songs In the Key of Life and harmonica-delivered melodies that’s so signature to the legendary signer’s style.

Knowing the recent news of Stevie’s new record deal and his split with longtime label Motown, we can only expect more sooner than later from the industry veteran. I hope he continues with the trend of having features on his tracks, as they bring new and old generations together in a perfectly-wrapped musical package. Being a longtime Stevie Wonder fan, there are very few tracks that have brought me so much joy, but I think even the nostalgia goggles aside this song is sure to stand the test of time and mark history as Stevie Wonder’s big return from a 15-year-old slumber.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.