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8/2/2019 The Evolution of John Legend
1/2
December 20, 2008 - December 26, 2008, The Washington Afro-American B3
By Zenitha Prince
Washington Bureau Chief
John Legend is well on his way to earning his
name.
Its been a while since the then-Kanye West
sidekick emerged from behind the scenes as the
voice on the hook of Slum Villages Selsh.
Now, three albums and several Grammy awards
later, Legend is at the top of his game, ushering
in a new era of baby making music and
evolving as The Voice of 21st century R&B.
As the head of HomeSchool Records, Legend
is also set to transform the musical landscape as
he already has with the introduction of British
phenomenon, singer and rapper, Estelle.
Beyond entertainment, the multi-faceted
artist has also emerged as the face of civic
leadership through his work with the campaign
of President-elect Barack Obama and his efforts
to end poverty via his Show Me Campaign.
Currently on tour showcasing his new album,
Evolver, Legend took the time after sold-out
shows in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., to
chat with theAFRO about his latest project and
more.
AFRO: Towards the end of Green Light
Andre 3000 says, Sometimes you gotta step
from behind the piano and let them know
whats going on. Did that challenge in any
way inuence this album and your concert
performances? (The D.C. performance was
crazy good by the way.)
John Legend: I think the album
wasnt really inuenced by that particular
statement. The album was a result of me and
my collaborators just going in to the studio to
try to make some great music. I wanted to make
an album with great songwriting and a great
sound. Thats all.
When it comes to live performances, Ive always
gotten up from the piano when I thought it was
appropriate for the song. Now that Im doing
songs from three albums, I get up from the piano
a little more because Evolver is less piano-
driven. Its been fun putting this show together
because there is a nice range of material from
Get Lifted to Once Again to Evolver. The
show has a nice balance of up-tempo, mid-tempo
and ballads. Im glad you enjoyed the show. I
really have fun performing it every night.
AFRO: What was your goal with this
album? What message did you want to give your
audiences about John Legend the songwriter,
performer, producer, man?
JL: Well, I just want people to love the
album, rst of all. I want them to listen to it all
the time. I want the songs to make you smile,
make you dance, inspire you, make you think,
etc. Thats what great music is supposed to do,
and thats what I was aiming for when making
this album.
AFRO: As a child of the Caribbean, I
was particularly enamored with Cant Be My
Lover featuring my man Buju Banton and No
Other Love. Did you intentionally inject that
Caribbean avor in there or did these songs just
evolve that way? How did the collabo with Buju
come about?
JL: I intentionally decided to try to
make some reggae-inspired tracks on this
album. When Ive done performances in the
Caribbean at various festivals, Ive done
reggae remixes of my own tracks and some
collaboration with reggae artists, but these are
the rst original songs Ive tried to compose. I
did it because I thought my voice and my singing
style would t well with reggae. So I reached out
to the producer Supa Dups, who I worked with
on Estelles song Come Over. We worked in
Miami for a couple days in November 2007 and
came up with No Other Love and Cant Be My
Lover. I was really happy with both songs and
decided to put them on the album. I reached out
to Estelle to contribute to No Other Love and
Supa Dups reached out to Buju for Cant be My
Lover. Im really happy with the results .
AFRO: Some fans have attributedEvolvers
The Evolutionof John Legend
John Legendperormed beore
cheering
sometimes
swooningans at
DAR Constitution
Hall in
Washington, D.C.,
on Dec. 6 as part o
his Evolvertour.
Photo by Danita Delaney
I want the songs to make you smile, make you dance, inspire
you, make you think, etc. Thats what great music is supposed to
do, and thats what I was aiming for when making this album.
Continued on B4
By Edith Billups
Special to the AFRO
Sophisticated Lady -An
Evening with Denyce Graves
will feature the critically
acclaimed vocalist and Duke
Ellington School of the Arts
alumna in a diverse recital
on Feb. 25 at the Kennedy
Center that will include
classical music, along with
pop, Americana, spirituals and
jazz.
A benet for the
Georgetown-based performing
arts high school, Graves isa D.C. native and one of
the opera worlds brightest
stars. She rose to stardom
after being raised by a single
parent near the Blue Plains
sewage plant in Southeast
Washington. A graduate of
Oberlin College Conservatory
of Music and the New
England Conservatory, Graves
has performed in some of
the worlds most renowned
opera houses. Tickets for
the singers hometown
performance went on sale
Dec. 10 at the Kennedy Center
box ofce and are expected to
sell out quickly.
A mezzo-soprano with a sultry voice
and commanding on-stage presence,
Graves said she is excited about the
February concert because this school is
the reason that I have the life that I have
today. Often, I am called upon often to
do benet performances, and I tell the
agency that they have to put a cap on
them because I have to make a living, too.
However, this one is quite different and
has a lot of meaning.In recent years, Ellington, a college
preparatory public school, has suffered
from a drop in funding and personnel.
According to Rory Pullens, head of school
at Duke Ellington, The cost of running
a premiere arts school has always been
more than the revenues than the DCPS
system has been able to provide at Duke
Ellington, not that because they havent
wanted to, but because there
are limitations as to how far
a district can go in terms of
providing all the resources for
every program.
Therefore, Duke Ellington
has always sought to attract
additional revenue through
various creative outlets, and
one such way has been to
have our alumni, who have
a national and international
presence, to come back and
put on a benet concert for
the school because there are
so many needs. This is what
Denyce Graves is doing.Pullens noted the concert
represents something that
cannot be shared in words.
It gives Duke Ellington a
broader exposure and it lets
people know that this school
is doing something so worthy
that someone of Denyces
stature will take the time to
reach back.
According to Graves,
life could not be better these
days, as she settles into a
newly purchased home in
Bethesda, Md., and raises her
4-year-old daughter Ella. She
also continues to maintain
a satisfying relationship with a French
composer, who is the father of her only
child.
For several years, unbeknownst to
many, the singer suffered from depression
while trying to maintain the perfect
image of what others wanted her to be.
Her fairytale marriage of 15 years to
her manager/husband failed and she
Courtesy Photo
Opera singer Denyce Graves will perorm Feb. 25 at the
Kennedy Center in a beneft concert or her alma mater, the
Duke Ellington School o the Arts.
Denyce Graves to Perorm Beneft Concertat Kennedy Center
Continued on B4
By Natalie Cone
Howard University News Service
WASHINGTON In a packed synagogue, a diverse audience
gathered last week to hear one of the queens of literature, Nobel
Laureate Toni Morrison.
David Dulaney, a teacher at The Barrie School in Silver
Spring, Md., sat with the 10 students of his African-American
literature class. Joyce Sebian and her daughter, Beth, excitedly
waited to hear Morrison speak as they glanced through her new
novel, A Mercy, which Joyce is now reading in her book club.
Morrison, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993 and the
Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her novel Beloved, made an appearance
at Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington to discuss her newbestselling novel.
The story takes place in 1682, a time when America was just
emerging, and the denition of a slave was not just someone
brought to the country from Africa. During that time, almost
anyone of any race could be a slave.
Its less about slavery in the sense that we think of it today,
Morrison told the audience. Whats interesting is how slavery
becomes married with race in this country. It wasnt always that
way.
The beautifully written book switches back and forth from a
rst person to a third person perspective. The rst person narrative
is in the voice of Florens, an Africa slave girl who was given to
Jacob Vaark by her owner, at the suggestion of the girls mother,
as payment for a debt.
Vaark is an Anglo-Dutch trader who claims to detest slavery
and takes great pride in that fact. He disassociates himself from
the trade mentally, even though he inadvertently supports the
system by loaning money to plantation owners.
Florens is taken to Vaarks home where she joins three otherwomen, Rebekka, Vaarks wife; Lina, their Native American
servant, and Sorrow, a quiet girl who was also given to Vaark as
payment for a debt. Though hes master of the three women, he
does not mistreat them. Together they forge a small family.
Everything changes when Vaark dies of small pox and the
women are left to care for themselves in a time when the promise
and threat of men was where security and risk lay, Morrison
writes in the book.
Author Spotlight
Toni Morrison Talks oNew Novel on Slavery
Continued on B4
8/2/2019 The Evolution of John Legend
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B4 December 20, 2008 - December 26, 2008, The Washington Afro-American
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1/2
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sometime departure from your usual fare to commercial
interests. Did the pressure to sell inuence your choices in this
album?
JL: Everybody wants to sell records and have hit songs, butI dont let that cloud my creative vision. I gure that if I make
great music, its going to sell. So I focus on that rst. Once you
make the music, you have to market it right, choose the right
singles, etc., to maximize it. But, most importantly, you have to
make great records.
AFRO: Mr. Legend in all three of your albumsand more
so inEvolver, I thinkyou come across as a very smooth, very
elegant, dare I say master of seduction. Is that an alter ego or are
you the same in your real life?
JL: Everybody has their own style and approach to
seduction. I think mine works pretty well, and I think my
songwriting reects my personality and the way I think and
carry myself. Im probably not as smooth as I portray myself in
my lyrics though. Who is?! Im still a nerd at heart. But there
are plenty of young ladies who like that in a man. So Im gonna
stick with what works for me!
AFRO: You were an avid supporter of President-electBarack Obama during his campaign. Where were you when
election results were announced and how did it feel to know
that he would become the next president of the United States?
What message would you give to the millions of singers, actors,
college students and other ordinary people who contributed to
his victory about the role they should play in framing the future
of this country and perhaps, the world?
JL: I was in Los Angeles when the results were
announced. My band and I had just done a taped performance
that afternoon. (I absentee voted in New York a week
early). We rented out the V.I.P. room in the hotel bar and had
them set up a TV so I could watch the results with the band and
crew and some friends. We pretty much knew he was going to
win, but every time a swing state came in, we cheered. And
we nally popped champagne when the networks called it for
Obama. I was thrilled. I was emotional. I was inspired. It
was a beautiful feeling. The sense of euphoria and optimism
lasted for a while, and Im still feeling really good about
it. Its exciting to have a new administration that, though itwill make some mistakes, is at least being led by a brilliant,
thoughtful individual and a set of highly competent staff
and cabinet members. Its exciting to have been part of this
campaign. The campaign was truly driven by the people, not
by the establishment. Everyone who volunteered, voted and
contributed should be proud.
AFRO: Will you be in D.C. for the presidential
inauguration and are you performing in the festivities?
JL: Ill be there. Were still conrming the details of my
appearances and performances, but I wouldnt miss it.
The Evolution of John LegendContinued from B3
underwent surgery for a non-cancerous
polyp on her vocal chords. These days,
however, the 40-something singer saidthings are good and she is happy.
[Since 1980] I have been working
98 percent of the time in America, said
Graves. Previously, I was working mostly
in Europe. She remains ercely close to
her mother who she says helps me out a
lot with Ella.
She calls her only child beautiful and
bossy and more outgoing than the shy,
awkward child that she was. She is more
comfortable in social situations, and she
loves to sing, Graves said. We cant stop
her!
One of three children who sang in their
family gospel group, The Inspirational
Children of God, Graves was raised in
a strict, Christian home, listening to The
Mighty Clouds of Joy and Mahalia Jackson.
She was able to pull her life together duringthe difcult times, because of my faith,
and because of my belief in something
other than this life here. I know that God
has a hand in my life.
She notes that this has been evident
since she was a kindergarten student and
was taken under the wing of her music
teacher, Judith Grove Allen. It was almost
a mystical relationship, as the two crossed
paths repeatedly during Graves childhood.
She was able to recognize my love for
music, and I loved going to her class from
kindergarten to middle school, she said.
By the time she had advanced to high
school, Grove was the principal at Ellington
and encouraged Graves to apply. Heaven
sent this woman and she guided me and set
me on this path, said Graves.
Today, Graves is one of the most
respected female opera singers in the
world, but it has not come without battling
obstacles such as racism in an art formGraves believes has a tradition and people
who have their own ideas of what they like
to see.
I have people who made no bones
about it. People told me right in my face,
and at least you know what you are dealing
with. Some general directors said there was
no way they would hire me.
She cites as an example the time when
she was asked to play Juliet by the producer
of the opera, by the director did not want
a Black Juliet. The rst day I showed up,
he wouldnt even shake my hand or look at
me. But I showed up every day and made
sure my voice was ready. I even showed up
at rehearsals where I didnt have to be. One
day slowly, he started to acknowledge me,
and slowly, slowly he began to accept that
I was doing this role and was part of this
project. Later, that same director offered
the singer another role in France.
Graves called the incident, a very
important lesson for me, and I am proud
because there were so many ways to handle
that. I came to understand that often it is
hard for people to imagine your face in
a role unless people see your face in the
role. In the end, it was about the talent,
and it brought something different to the
production itself.
Graves notes that for African-American
male singers, the blocks can be even harder
to hurdle. Most of the roles are written for
the lead, and some feel uncomfortable with
African-American men in leading roles,
Graves said.
Still, she sees some progress and is
tremendously excited about Barack Obama
becoming the 44th president of the United
States. For me this has been an enormousachievement. Even before he has taken
ofce, he has brought change. I have a
tremendous excitement about where we
are going. When Barack spoke in 2004, I
called my best friend in Switzerland and I
said he could be president. After Obama
was nominated, the singer vowed, I didnt
care where I was in the world. I said that I
would y back to vote for him, and I voted
in Maryland.
Graves believes that Obama and others,
like her idol, Leontyne Price, represent the
best of preparing yourself to your ability.
Leontyne, for instance, is the reason I am
singing. The sheer beauty and power of her
voice changed my life.
And she empathizes with singers who are
called divas because they demand excellence
of the people they are working with. We are
trained to be super critical of every single
note. It is the art of beautiful singing, and
we are judged in that way. When you are
out there on the front line, its just you and
Jesus. Nobody is going to know that the
conductor asked you to sing it that way. At
the end of the day, you have to responsible
for your choices because they are only going
to remember that you sang it that way.
For the Feb. 25th performance, Graves
will be accompanied by outstanding musical
accompanists, including students from the
Duke Ellington High School Choir. For
tickets, call the Kennedy Center box ofce at
202-467-4600 or call 800-444-1324.
Continued from B3
Denyce Graves to Perform
The story forms as Rebekka contracts small pox,
and Florens is sent on a journey to get help. Morrison
uses the story to show how enslavement affects the
characterswho they are and who theyre forced to
become. The novel is only 167 pages, but Morrison, in
that short space, weaves a complex and poetic story.
Morrison, who also wrote about slavery in Beloved,
dismissed critics who say she should give the subject a
rest.
There is no fnal or ultimate closing the door to
slavery, she said, or closing the door to the holocaust,
or closing the door to war. You dont close the door on
a period. Thats closing the door to your past.
Morrison explained her novels unique title.
A Mercy was simple; it sounded almost
accidental, she said. God provides mercy, but a
mercy, thats something only a human can offer.
Toni MorrisonContinued from B3
D.C. Arts and Entertainment Calendar
Dec. 18
The Sweet Heaven Kings Gospel Celebration
Kennedy Center-Millennium Stage, 2700 F St., N.W., D.C.6 p.m. A 16-member gospel percussion and brass ensemble
performs holiday music with powerful singers. Free. For moreinformation: 202-467-4600 or visit www. kennedy-center.org.
Dec. 19A Glympse of Glory: Birthing the Vision of Holiness
Howard University, Cramton Auditorium, 2455 6th St., N.W.,D.C.7 p.m. Priase in Motion presents a play about a teenagegirls who nds and fullls her destiny. Includes music, dance
and more. $20 with group specials. For more information andto purchase tickets: 240-788-3596 or visit www.praiseinmotion.info
Author Spotlight
Toni Morrison