I like things that feel like they’re timeless and really well made and tailored… things that make me feel confident when I leave the house. – John Legend
My first album, ‘Get Lifted,’ was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic choices, in the way that I sing and write songs. I have always had that as part of my background and part of my influence when I am making music. – John Legend
In terms of the technology I use the most, it’s probably a tie between my Blackberry and my MacBook Pro laptop. That’s how I communicate with the rest of the world and how I handle all the business I have to handle. – John Legend
The Obamas have been a great example for the country, and I think people are getting a bit nostalgic for that now when they see what some of the alternatives might be. – John Legend
I work with a bunch of producers on every album, but the difference for ‘Evolver’ was that I couldn’t get any time with Kanye. I forget what he was doing at the time, but he was all over the place. We were never at the same city at the same time. – John Legend
My first attempt at a kiss was in fifth grade, but it didn’t go so well. Later, I used Boyz II Men and Jodeci songs to come on to girls. I had more success. – John Legend
Hip hop has the urgency and rebelliousness that early rock n’ roll and punk had: a level of rule-breaking and flirtation with danger. It allows you to break the rules. – John Legend
My style is pretty clean, classic, and elegant, with some elements to make it a little funkier. If you see me on a normal day, I’m usually in a T-shirt and jeans, maybe with some cool sneakers, but I’m pretty basic. – John Legend
I always figured I would live long enough to see a black president. The movies predicted it. Usually, Morgan Freeman. – John Legend
In my neighborhood in Springfield, Ohio, there were a lot of young kids. We all played tackle football after school, but I knew very early on that I was not an athlete. – John Legend
I signed with Kanye back in 2003, and at that time, ‘The College Dropout’ hadn’t even come out, so he was still relatively unknown compared to where he is now. He wasn’t a household name; people were still calling him ‘Kane.’ – John Legend
If you look at what happened with Underground Railroad, there is so much action. There is so much intrigue; there is so much of historical importance. – John Legend
Obviously, Kanye and I are very different in the way we express ourselves publicly. He’s so passionate… about art, about culture, about creativity. And he’s really good at it. And that honesty manifests itself in ways that are not politically correct, not socially acceptable sometimes. – John Legend
I think they need to get a more reliable way of watching television on the laptop. Because I travel so much, if I want to watch my favorite sports team it might not be showing in that place, so I want a reliable way to watch whatever I want to watch on my laptop. – John Legend
At the end of the day, there’s only a few major stars in the music business, and then there’s all these people that are aspiring to be that. – John Legend
Hip-hop is one of the most free art forms there is. There’s so many sounds you can use, so many things you can bring in. You never know, man. I bet years ago people would’ve never said they would hear me with Rick Ross, and we did four classic songs together. – John Legend
To have the chance to see your music be elevated and to have almost universally positive response to that music, makes me feel better every day. I feel more confident and inspired, and that’s fun. – John Legend
In the 1970s, for all the Stevie Wonders, I’m sure there were five artists that were making forgettable music. – John Legend
Sometimes there’s that perfect moment when the crowd, the music, the energy of the room come together in a way that brings me to tears. – John Legend
I studied African American studies, and I read these slave narratives and the escape narratives of people that were able to escape slavery and always found those stories intriguing and powerful and inspiring. – John Legend
We have this film that we hope to finance, it’s called ‘Southern Rights.’ It’s a documentary about segregated proms that are still happening in the South of America. So there’s a black prom and a white prom, so we hope to finance a film soon about that. – John Legend
I always saw myself as a singer-songwriter, a solo-artist, that’s why working with other artists was never satisfying for me. – John Legend
I used to work for a management consulting company, so I dressed differently – business casual, probably a lot of things from Banana Republic. My wardrobe now is definitely more expensive, but I always dress for the occasion. – John Legend
I ate some pretty funky, authentic Chinese food in Hong Kong. There was an egg from some bird that’s not a chicken. I can’t remember what it was, but it was green and brown and not very tasty. – John Legend
Artists in general never stay in the same place; we keep growing. It’s still you: you still have that core that you always had, but you work with new people and hear new things. – John Legend