John Legend - Biography

Last Editor: Snootle				John Legend Biography -   Name : John Legend Birth name : John Stephens Date of birth : December 28, 1978 Place of birth : Springfield, Ohio, United States Profession : Singer–songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor Genres : R&B, soul, pop Instruments : Vocals, piano, keyboards Years active : 2001–present Nationality : American Height : 5' 9" (1.75 m)

John Legend Trivia -

Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything" (from her Grammy-winning debut solo album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill") is the first major record on which he played. Graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English. Has either co-written, played on, or sang on various artists' hits, including, but not limited to, Twista, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Janet Jackson, Slum Village, Dilated Peoples, Black Eyed Peas, and Kanye West. Was the music and choir director at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania for nine years. Is the first artist on Kanye West's Getting Out Our Dreams (G.O.O.D.) label (distributed by Sony Records). Met Kanye West through his college roommate--who happened to be Kanye's cousin.

John Legend Detailed Biography -

John Legend (born John Stephens on December 28, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio) is an American Grammy winning R&B singer, songwriter, and pianist. His debut album, the platinum selling Get Lifted, was released in late 2004. It features collaborations with rapper and producer Kanye West as well as rapper Snoop Dogg and the singles "Used To Love U" (US top 100, UK top 30) and "Ordinary People" (US and UK top 30). He also collaborated with Slum Village on the song "Selfish" (US top 100), also featuring Kanye West. Legend also played the piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything" and sang background vocals on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name." When Legend was 4, he started playing gospel and classical piano that his grandmother had taught him. And at the age of 5 or 6, he sang with the church choir. Legend attended Springfield North High School, graduating as Salutatorian at 16. He was also prom king. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia. There, he was a member of the coed a cappella group Counterparts. At Penn, Legend majored in English, with an emphasis on African American literature and culture. Oddly enough, his first job after graduating from Penn was not in the music business- Legend began working for the Boston Consulting Group in Boston and then New York City. Before becoming a mainstream artist, Legend often hit the nightclub circuit in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC performing as an independent artist and distributing live LPs such as Live at SOB's. It was John Legend's roommate and former classmate at Penn, Devon Harris, who introduced Legend to his cousin and then up-and-coming hip hop artist Kanye West. Since that meeting, Legend and West have worked closely together. Legend is also signed to West's label, "G.O.O.D. Music". Legend sang many of the melodic hooks on West’s demo, which would eventually become the Grammy Award winning The College Dropout; and West provided rhythm tracks for Legend’s demo, which would evolve into Get Lifted. Recently, Legend contributed to fellow G.O.O.D artist Common's LP, Be, and also provided vocals for the track "High Road" on the album The Rising Tied by Fort Minor. Legend frequently cites gospel, R&B, and hip hop music as his main musical influences. Legend was recently nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including best new artist. The awards will be held February 8, 2006 in Los Angeles. Legend performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit.