“Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye” (1979) – Stevie Wonder * Written and produced by Stevie Wonder * LP: Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants * Label: Tamla
Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants sprung forth as soundtrack music for a documentary film based on a new-agey 1973 book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird. It focused on plants as sentient beings, a premise that gives Wonder’s album whimsical appeal while attracting some serious stink-eye from hard science. “Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye,” from side two of the double LP, showcases Senegalese kora player Lamine Konte, and the title is a phoneticization of the words “a seed is a star” in Konte’s native Bambara language.