A musical protg from an early age, 23 year old John Legend has worked with some of the biggest names in music, and now his debut album, Get Lifted. album, which is John's first on a major label, features guest appearances by Kanye West and Snoop Dogg as well as production by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas.
"Certified classic. " Vibe
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Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel include: John Legend (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, keyboards); Kanye West (rap vocals, programming); Snoop Dogg (rap vocals); Dave Tozer (guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, programming); Miri Ben-Ari (strings); Tim Izo (flute, saxophone); Printz Board (trumpet); Will.i.am (Moog synthesizer, programming). | | Recording information: The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA; Sony Music Studios, New York, NY; Westlake Audio, Hollywood, California. | | Six years after cutting his musical teeth as a teen, tickling the ivories on the classic Lauryn Hill single "Everything Is Everything," John Stephens popped up everywhere in 2004, going by the bold name of John Legend. His ubiquity was unsurprising, since he was taken under the wing of Kanye West, the year's breakout success, who tabbed Legend "the future of hip-hop." It's an interesting label for a man whose elegant voice and schooled songwriting conjures up Bill Withers and Al Green, but sometimes the future intersects with the past in a manner transcending revival. | | Legend drops his debut, GET LIFTED, into the center of the neo-soul universe, and it's a charming, earnest record. Sometimes he dives into a contemporary slow jam, as on "Let's Get Lifted;" other times he finds a groove the Delfonics would be proud of, as on the West-driven "Number One." On the gently gorgeous "Ordinary People, " however, it's just the man and his piano. Whether he's truly the future direction of any genre or not, Legend is an artist to watch, and GET LIFTED offers the first major taste of his talent. |
Producer: John Legend; Kanye West; Will.i.am; Dave Tozer |
Engineer: Michael Peters |
Musical Guests | | Snoop Dogg | | Kanye West | | Will.i.am | | Lauryn Hill |
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| Though it appears that he emerged fully-formed in 2004 from the mind of Kanye West, John Legend got his start on the East Coast in the mid 1990s as John Stephens, a promising neo-soul piano-player and songwriter. After he garnered the attention of Lauryn Hill--on whose 1998 classic Legend played--many high-profile studio gigs followed, including a pivotal one co-writing and playing on Kanye West's smash debut. West, impressed with Stephens's abilities, signed him (as "John Legend") to his production company and co-produced his debut album, GET LIFTED, a soul-hip-hop hybrid that wowed critics and listeners alike. Thus rechristened, a Legend was born. |
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