Catching Up With John Legend About Family, the 10th Anniversary of 'All of Me' and Reimagining 'Legend' | Interview by matt_mitchell48
Before he became a 12-time Grammy winner, R&B superstar John Legend was known as John Stephens, a kid born and raised in a music-loving household in Springfield, Ohio. After graduating from North High School, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania and studied English. While there, he’d become a lead vocalist in the college’s acappella group the Counterparts, and, through a chance encounter spurred by a friend from campus, play piano on Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything.
John Legend: It’s very special and you want to give it your best, and there’s so many people that we look up to who are in the audience. And then, even the people I was performing with, I look up to. You know, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, everybody was so talented. I felt very fortunate to be a part of []. And, you know, Jay-Z is, of course, the MVP of that record. His verse was very newsworthy and showed his virtuosity as an MC.
Legend: I haven’t spoken to her in a while. Whenever I see her, I’m always excited and give her a big hug. We’ve never had each other’s numbers or anything like that, but I still have so much respect for her artistry.wasn’t just your debut; it was the GOOD Music debut, too. Going into that record, did you know it was going to be the first release on the label?
Paste: I’m glad you brought up J. Ivy. What made you initially reluctant to go by “John Legend” after he suggested it? Legend: [Chrissy Teigen and I] are gonna celebrate our wedding anniversary, ten years, so I’m very aware of the timing now. But yeah, the first time I sang it live was at our wedding and we’ll be 10 years married in September.
Paste: The GRAMMYs aren’t perfect, but at least you got to have that moment, which seems pretty perfect. Legend: I think it does change, if you’re a guest on someone else’s project versus them being a guest on yours. When it’s my album, I have a vision for who I want on the record, what I want them to accomplish with their verse, with their contribution to the record. When it’s a vocalist doing a duet with me, I’ll usually sing a rough idea of what I would like them to do on the record.
Paste: You were just nominated for a GRAMMY for playing on DJ Khaled’s “God Did.” You’ve worked with him multiple times in the past, even winning a GRAMMY with him. The internet likes to dunk on him a bit, but he is consistently working with the best artists in the world. What are people outside of the industry getting wrong about his musicianship?
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