The legendary singer, songwriter and record producer, Stevie Wonder he is officially a citizen of Ghana.

On his 74th birthday, the American R&B, pop, soul, gospel and funk legend was honored with Ghanaian citizenship by the country’s president.

“Congratulations” Nana Akufo-Addo said to Stevie Wonder as he presented the Grammy-winning singer with a certificate at the citizenship ceremony at the presidential palace in Accra on Monday and a birthday cake with the flag of Ghana.

The superstar was born and raised in the US state of Michigan, but has long had ties to Ghana in West Africa, thousands of miles away from his homeland.

In 1975, with a string of hit albums behind him, Stevie Wonder openly expressed a desire to put his music career on hold and move to Ghana. He believed that ancestral origins could be traced there.

He eventually settled in the US, but after attending a Ghana Music Festival in the 1990s, he again expressed a desire to settle there.

On a subsequent trip to Ghana he wrote his entire ‘Conversation Peace’ album and in an interview just three years ago the star again referred to the possibility of moving to Ghana because of tensions and racial injustice in the US.

Stevie Wonder, a self-proclaimed admirer of the African country’s rich cultural heritage, expressed deep gratitude, joy and honor at being granted citizenship.

Wonder learned to play the piano, drums and harmonica at age 9 and was signed to Motown in 1961. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, an honorable mention, and been nominated 74 times.