206Michelle said:

214 said:

Lately i have been listening to some songs off Characters, it's not bad at all. I dig Skeletons, Free, With Each Beat of My Heart, Crying Through The Night and You Will Know.

I've been listening to Characters a lot as well. Characters has definitely grown on me. It doesn't measure up to Talking Book, Innervisions, or SITKOL ---very few albums measure up to those 3. But Characters is a pretty good album by the standards of 1987.

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My favorite song from Characters is "Dark 'N' Lovely," which is a song about the impact of apartheid on black people in South Africa. I knew he had an album called Characters but I never listened to it. I first listened to it on Easter Sunday of this year because I heard the song "You Will Know" while driving to mass on Easter Sunday.

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When I first listened to DNL, I figured out that it was about some conflict going on in Africa. When I did some more research on the internet 2 weeks ago (on Stevie's birthday), I found out that DNL was specifically about apartheid in South Africa. I knew the basics about apartheid, but I really don't remember anything first hand about it because I was so young when it came to an end (I was born in 1986). I remember the South African elections in 1994 and seeing footage of these long lines of people who were waiting to vote, and that Nelson Mandela became the president of SA.

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DNL actually has helped me become more educated about apartheid. Because of DNL, I've learned the meanings of words like shebeen and bantustan, as well as who Botha was. I knew that apartheid was racist and unjust, but DNL made me interested in become more educated about apartheid, and I have gained a better understanding of how brutal and unjust the apartheid government in South Africa was.

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Stevie has numerous songs like DNL, songs that make the listener think and question. He is a thinking person's artist, and it's one of the reasons why I respect him so much, because he uses his platform as a musician to make the world better.

Great,i'mgonna take a good listentothatsong,because at firstdidn't like it. Have you aver heard about this song? i have just found it some days ago. It's really good, the subject isithinkalike tothatin Dark N' Lovely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAthMi5Kz5g

214 said:

206Michelle said:

I've been listening to Characters a lot as well. Characters has definitely grown on me. It doesn't measure up to Talking Book, Innervisions, or SITKOL ---very few albums measure up to those 3. But Characters is a pretty good album by the standards of 1987.

.

My favorite song from Characters is "Dark 'N' Lovely," which is a song about the impact of apartheid on black people in South Africa. I knew he had an album called Characters but I never listened to it. I first listened to it on Easter Sunday of this year because I heard the song "You Will Know" while driving to mass on Easter Sunday.

.

When I first listened to DNL, I figured out that it was about some conflict going on in Africa. When I did some more research on the internet 2 weeks ago (on Stevie's birthday), I found out that DNL was specifically about apartheid in South Africa. I knew the basics about apartheid, but I really don't remember anything first hand about it because I was so young when it came to an end (I was born in 1986). I remember the South African elections in 1994 and seeing footage of these long lines of people who were waiting to vote, and that Nelson Mandela became the president of SA.

.

DNL actually has helped me become more educated about apartheid. Because of DNL, I've learned the meanings of words like shebeen and bantustan, as well as who Botha was. I knew that apartheid was racist and unjust, but DNL made me interested in become more educated about apartheid, and I have gained a better understanding of how brutal and unjust the apartheid government in South Africa was.

.

Stevie has numerous songs like DNL, songs that make the listener think and question. He is a thinking person's artist, and it's one of the reasons why I respect him so much, because he uses his platform as a musician to make the world better.

Great,i'mgonna take a good listentothatsong,because at firstdidn't like it. Have you aver heard about this song? i have just found it some days ago. It's really good, the subject isithinkalike tothatin Dark N' Lovely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAthMi5Kz5g

I have never heard this song to which you refer, "Misrepresented People." I just listened to it. It's a good song. I really like the lyrics, but the melody is just so-so to me. "Misrepresented People" is more about racism and the black experience in the USA, whereas DNL is about racism and the black experience in South Africa. "Misrepresented People" has lyrics with a similar message as "Black Man" off of SITKOL. That said, yes, both songs (MP and DNL) address racism that people of African descent have faced/face. Stevie has another song about apartheid called "It's Wrong (Apartheid)" on In Square Circle.

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I love that Stevie is willing to be so racially and politically conscious. It is also worth noting that Stevie Wonder collaborated with his friend Imhotep Gary Byrd, a broadcaster in NY City, on some of his racially conscious songs, including "Black Man," Dark 'N' Lovely," and "Misrepresented People."

[Edited 5/27/17 21:40pm]

The melody from Misrepresented People it's similar tio that of Village Ghetto