Modern Classics: PJ Morton made Nas’s Stevie Wonder dream come true

EPISODE 268

On all of his projects — Grammy-winning albums, playing keys with Maroon 5, fronting a full string section in his NPR Tiny Desk Concert — PJ Morton evinces his mastery at updating classic soul and R&B with modern sounds. His latest full-length release, Watch the Sun, sees him joined by some of his own sources of inspiration, Stevie Wonder and Nas. The three combined forces on Morton’s track “Be Like Water,” which recites an uplifting mantra over unsettled harmonies. The effect is hypnotizing. Morton spoke with Switched on Pop about what it was like to work with his heroes and to share overlooked modern classics from Wonder’s and Nas’s catalogs.

Songs Discussed

PJ Morton - Be Like Water

Stevie Wonder - Isn’t She Lovely

Stevie Wonder - The First Garden

Stevie Wonder - Come Back As A Flower

Stevie Wonder - Flower Power

Stevie Wonder - Earth’s Creation

Nas, Anderson .Paak - All Bad

PJ Morton - Please Don’t Walk Away

Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak - Leave The Door Open

PJ Morton - Love’s Disease