I am truly blessed by the countless opportunities I have to experience, enjoy and participate in the creation of music. Last night at the Troubador, I was fortunate enough to be in a very small crowd for a truly inspiring performance by John Legend, backed by the Roots and featuring Common, as they introduced the first live performance of the entire upcoming CD collaboration between John and the Roots (release date September 21st). The show featured great performances and reworking of the 70’s Soul classics that fill the album, each song with it’s own notable history and conscious minded lyrics, like the title track: “Wake Up Everybody”, originally made famous by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes as a anthem calling out to the people of hometown Philly and the nation to take action. It is a challenge to make a cover album, or live show for that matter, feel really fresh and inspiring, but Legend and the Roots were able to do just that: perform timeless songs and make the music fresh, the performances inspired and the messages timely.
It is not surprising that John chose such conscious songs, or the groove kings of the live conscious hip hop vibe to back him up. In addition to having the chops and voice to deliver, he is truly an artist who walks the walk, a philanthropist and activist.
His real commitment to supporting social needs with his music can after reading Professor Jeffrey Sachs‘ book, The End of Poverty. Sachs’ observations motivate Legend to visit Ghana to learn more about making life better for the people who live under the poverty line. He then started his own “Show Me Campaign”, calling on his fans to help him in his initiative for those who reside there.
Legend is also the National spokesperson for the “Gentlemen’s Fund”, an initiative to raise support and awareness for five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice, as well as for Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). MLT is a national non-profit organization that has made ground-breaking progress assisting the next generation of African American, Hispanic and Native American leaders in major corporations, non-profit organizations and entrepreneurial ventures.
Below is a video of John and the Roots in a far less intimate, but equally inspiring performance of the albums title track “Wake Up” at the recent World Cup concert in South Africa. You can also watch the official video for the single at www.johnlegend.com.
