History of John legend

John Legend (his real name is John Stephens) is well on his way. Get Lifted, his debut album, produced by Platinum rapper-producer Kanye West, has become one of the top sellers in the nation. Legend assisted on West’s double-Platinum College Dropout CD as a vocalist, pianist and co-writer on several tracks. He performed its biggest hit, "Jesus Walks," with West, Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of Alabama on the 47th Annual Grammy Awards Feb. 13. West was the most nominated artist in the awards, with 10.

Philly-bred singer, songwriter and pianist John Legend was born into a musical family in 1979, the grandson of a minister who spent much of his childhood singing and playing in church. His family moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania when he was a child, and he was playing the piano and singing in the church choir from an early age.

An accomplished singer, musician, songwriter and producer, John Legend has been making music of one kind or another since his early childhood. Influenced by a musical family active in the church, the young Legend embraced gospel, classic soul and hip-hop, and the fusion of all three epitomizes his unique sound.

He performed and recorded with various groups as well as a solo artist while attending college in Philadelphia and subsequently became seriously involved with the area's neo-soul explosion of the late 1990s.

The musical influences of his childhood included classic Soul and Gospel singers ranging from Stevie Wonder and Al Green to Shirley Caesar and Edwin Hawkins, as well as more modern acts like Jodeci and Boyz II Men (okay, I'm feeling kind of old when a singer cites Jodeci as a childhood influence). He attended college at Penn and served as musical director at Bethel A.M.E. church for nearly a decade during high school and college.

Stephens was introduced by his college roommate to hot young rapper and producer Kanye West, and the two began working together, with Stephens proving himself a fine songwriter as well as a singer and session musician. He wrote the great "You Don't Know My Name" for Alicia Keys as well as a couple cuts from Kanye West's College Dropout album. He also played on albums by Lauren Hill, Keys, Taleb Kwili, Slum Village and decidedly hip-hop artists such as Twista, Jay-Z. He also recorded a couple of solo live albums, which gathered for him a minor following.
West signed Stephens to his new KonMan production company, and helped John strike a deal with Columbia Records under the new (and somewhat controversial) moniker, John Legend. Legend narrowed his dozens of compositions to an album's worth, and began working with West and number of big name hip-hop and modern R&B talents in making his debut studio album, Get Lifted.
Get Lifted debuted in the Billboard top 5 in late 2004, which is not a surprise anymore for a heavily promoted debut album by a noted hip-hop backup man. The surprise, however, was the Get Lifted was not a hip hop album -- it was actually a real soul album in hip-hop clothing. Listen to "Live It Up" and "So High," and you're hearing Curtis Mayfield or Bobby Womack, and "It Don't Have to Change" is a nostalgic song that is pure church (including a Gospel choir composed mostly of Legend's family).
Radio is rightly eating up the excellent mid-tempo "Used To Love U" and the piano ballad "Ordinary People," each of which is appealing to an impressively broad group of listeners, hitting both the hip hop and Urban Adult Contemporary crowds in the same way that Alicia Keys has been able to do.
Only occasionally does Get Lifted fall into hip-hop lyrical traps that may turn off some listeners ("Number One" is unfortunate in that regard); for the most part it shows a very talented, young singer who knows his Soul Music history and who is taking it in progressive, interesting directions. It is an impressive debut and could well mark the emergence of an important artist. Worth checking out.

Legend (his real name is John Stephens) is well on his way. Get Lifted, his debut album, produced by Platinum rapper-producer Kanye West, has become one of the top sellers in the nation. Legend assisted on West’s double-Platinum College Dropout CD as a vocalist, pianist and co-writer on several tracks. He performed its biggest hit, "Jesus Walks," with West, Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of Alabama on the 47th Annual Grammy Awards Feb. 13. West was the most nominated artist in the awards, with 10.

Philly-bred singer, songwriter and pianist John Legend was born into a musical family in 1979, the grandson of a minister who spent much of his childhood singing and playing in church. His family moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania when he was a child, and he was playing the piano and singing in the church choir from an early age.

An accomplished singer, musician, songwriter and producer, John Legend has been making music of one kind or another since his early childhood. Influenced by a musical family active in the church, the young Legend embraced gospel, classic soul and hip-hop, and the fusion of all three epitomizes his unique sound.

He performed and recorded with various groups as well as a solo artist while attending college in Philadelphia and subsequently became seriously involved with the area's neo-soul explosion of the late 1990s.

The musical influences of his childhood included classic Soul and Gospel singers ranging from Stevie Wonder and Al Green to Shirley Caesar and Edwin Hawkins, as well as more modern acts like Jodeci and Boyz II Men (okay, I'm feeling kind of old when a singer cites Jodeci as a childhood influence). He attended college at Penn and served as musical director at Bethel A.M.E. church for nearly a decade during high school and college.

Stephens was introduced by his college roommate to hot young rapper and producer Kanye West, and the two began working together, with Stephens proving himself a fine songwriter as well as a singer and session musician. He wrote the great "You Don't Know My Name" for Alicia Keys as well as a couple cuts from Kanye West's College Dropout album. He also played on albums by Lauren Hill, Keys, Taleb Kwili, Slum Village and decidedly hip-hop artists such as Twista, Jay-Z. He also recorded a couple of solo live albums, which gathered for him a minor following.
West signed Stephens to his new KonMan production company, and helped John strike a deal with Columbia Records under the new (and somewhat controversial) moniker, John Legend. Legend narrowed his dozens of compositions to an album's worth, and began working with West and number of big name hip-hop and modern R&B talents in making his debut studio album, Get Lifted.
Get Lifted debuted in the Billboard top 5 in late 2004, which is not a surprise anymore for a heavily promoted debut album by a noted hip-hop backup man. The surprise, however, was the Get Lifted was not a hip hop album -- it was actually a real soul album in hip-hop clothing. Listen to "Live It Up" and "So High," and you're hearing Curtis Mayfield or Bobby Womack, and "It Don't Have to Change" is a nostalgic song that is pure church (including a Gospel choir composed mostly of Legend's family).
Radio is rightly eating up the excellent mid-tempo "Used To Love U" and the piano ballad "Ordinary People," each of which is appealing to an impressively broad group of listeners, hitting both the hip hop and Urban Adult Contemporary crowds in the same way that Alicia Keys has been able to do.
Only occasionally does Get Lifted fall into hip-hop lyrical traps that may turn off some listeners ("Number One" is unfortunate in that regard); for the most part it shows a very talented, young singer who knows his Soul Music history and who is taking it in progressive, interesting directions. It is an impressive debut and could well mark the emergence of an important artist. Worth checking out.