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In
theory, the neosoul movement is a wonderful thing but let's be
real: It has yet to deliver any true titans. Sure, young
bloods like Dwele, Bilal, and D'Angelo have their strengths,
but they just aren't in the same stratosphere as Stevie,
Smokey or Marvin.
On the evidence of his major-label
debut, Get Lifted, John Legend may be one of the few new jacks
in a league with the above old-schoolers. A New York-based
singer-songwriter-producer-session man, Legend has been a
background singer-pianist for everyone from Jay-Z
(''Lucifer'') and Alicia Keys (''If I Ain't Got You'') to
Kanye West, who signed Legend to his label and exec-produced
Lifted.
Legend would probably be big news even
without the imprimatur of his multi-Grammy nominee mentor.
While West co-wrote the first single, ''Used to Luv U,'' he
doesn't impose his style on the album, which eschews the
R&B trend of using hip-hop to cover up undercooked
melodies; there are no time-wasting shout-outs or gratuitous
samples. When West pops up rapping about his penis in ''Number
One'' — a sly, joyous track that recalls the O'Jays — it's
more a goof than an outrage. Even Snoop Dogg's cameo on ''I
Can Change'' is refreshing, with a love-struck Dogg renouncing
his mack-daddy ways (''[You] make me wanna lay down the pimpin'
and step my love game up'').
Almost every tune seduces with catchy
hooks and soulful singing that sidesteps the melismatic
overkill that's murdering R&B. Perhaps the most perfectly
realized song is also the simplest. ''Ordinary People,'' an
exquisite ballad (produced by the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am)
about the everyday challenges faced by couples, uses only
voice and piano. It's both immediately familiar and intensely
exotic. That it is being released as a single is miraculous,
since the less-is-more concept seems anathema to so many
latter-day producers. He may hang with hip-hoppers, but Legend
knows good singing and good playing are what ordinary people
want most.
Whether you call it "fate" or
"destiny" or "a calling," the fact is that
some people are born to sing and create music. If you ask any
of the "legends" in the music business, chances are
you'll get a variation on the idea that music is and always
has been the artist's most natural expression. The industry's
latest "legend" -- John Legend, actually -- reveals
that from the age of five or six, he expected to be
'discovered.'
“I used to watch Michael Jackson on
television and I figured I could do what he was doing."
Music has been the central theme in the life of John Legend
(born John Stephens) for as long as he can remember and now,
some twenty-odd years later, this multi-talented singer,
songwriter, musician, arranger and producer is fulfilling his
childhood dreams and ambitions.
Among the impressive credits John's amassed in the last few
years (which includes session work with Alicia Keys, Janet
Jackson, Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Eve, Common, the
Black Eyed Peas and, of course, Kanye West), John is
particularly proud of his work on "Everything Is
Everything," a key cut on Hill's multi-platinum
Grammy-winning The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. "Through
a friend of hers," says Legend, "I went to the
studio when Lauryn was working on that record and I sang a
couple of original songs for her and ended up playing piano on
that song. I'm still very proud that that was the first major
record I was on."
Counting Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin,
Curtis Mayfield, Al Green and The O'Jays among his primary
influences (along with a slew of gospel artists like Edwin
Hawkins, Shirley Caesar, Commissioned, John P. Kee and James
Cleveland he heard during his formative years), John Legend
has combined his inspirations into a stunning new sound all
his own. You can hear it on tracks like "She Don't Have
To Know" and "#1" (which features Kanye West),
a pair of songs dealing with the age-old topic of infidelity.
Of the latter, John says with a smile, "I guess you could
say that's a 'guy' song. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, basically
saying, 'Hey, I know I cheated, but I'm a guy so what do you
expect?' A lot of traditional R&B doesn't have that wit
and swagger that you find in hip-hop, and that's what I wanted
to include in my music."
Family roots are important to John and he recalls growing up
in a distinctly musical household: "There was a piano in
the house and I learned to play and read music early on. By
the time I was eight or nine, I was playing in the local
church for the choir. My grandma taught me a lot of the gospel
songs and between lessons in classical music and singing and
playing in church, I really developed my 'ear.' I always loved
the feeling when people responded to my singing and playing so
I was already making little gospel records in high school. I
was ambitious and just loved being onstage."
With word-of-mouth spreading among industry execs and
artists, John found himself making a number of guest
appearances on different projects recorded in 2003 and out in
2004: he played keyboards on "Overnight Celebrity"
(from Twista's Kamikaze CD); sang, played and appeared in the
video for Dilated Peoples' "This Way"; co-wrote and
played on Janet Jackson's "I Want You"; co-wrote,
played and sung on "I Try," the lead single
featuring Mary J. Blige, from Talib Kweli's Beautiful Struggle
album (which also features John's work as lead vocalist and
pianist on the track "Around My Way"). In addition
to also singing lead on Slum Village's "Selfish,"
John played on sessions for Eve, Common and Britney Spears
while still performing at clubs and making two more
independently-produced live CDs, Solo Sessions, Vol. 1: Live
at The Knitting Factory and Live At SOB's.
"I originally was given the name John Legend by a
friend from Chicago because he thought I sounded so much like
an old school artist," John confesses. "At first, I
thought it was funny to be called 'Legend,' but then a lot of
my friends started calling me that and it really caught on so
much that more people were calling me 'Legend' than my real
name. So I started to consider using it as my stage name. I
knew it sounded a little presumptuous, but I figured it would
definitely make me stand out from the pack. I figured it would
make people pay attention to me. And once I have their
attention, I hope to make them fall in love with my music. By
being 'John Legend,' I put some pressure on myself but I'm
gonna try to live up to it and I hope my music will live up to
it."
One listen to the soulful yet edgy Get Lifted and there's
no question that John Legend indeed delivers the real deal,
living up to his name and beginning the next chapter in a
career filled with promise and possibility.
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