Musician – John Legend

John Rogers, more commonly known as John Legend, was born December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. He’s had a deep love for music and even took piano lessons at three years old. With age, his talent started to grow expeditiously, leading to him graduating at only 16 years old and graduating college with an English degree. Legend moved to New York, and became a management consultant. During his free time, he continued to pursue his passion for music and made some powerful connections. A few years earlier, he played piano for Lauryn Hill’s song “Everything is Everything” and then tried out to be in her band. While this attempt was unsuccessful, Legend shortly after played for Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and other R&B artists. 

Though he was pretty well known to big artists as a backup singer, his own career as a solo artist kicked off in 2004. Since then he’s won twelve Grammy’s and has had over 30 nominations. While he’s known as an amazing artist, people also know Legend as someone who loves giving back to the community. He’s donated money to over 50 charities and 27 causes including some he’s founded on his own. To date, he continues to donate money to people in need, and recently donated $200,000 to bail out protesters that were “marching for justice”. Legend makes it very clear that everyone has a right to “peacefully protest oppression and injustice” but encourages everyone to stay safe and protect themselves, especially during the pandemic.

Music continues to entrance people in its beauty and soulfulness. Many of the popular categories today are derived from African American origin or have been heavily influenced by the Black community. 

“R&B, soul music, and Jazz music came from black people, and it’s important to recognize,” senior Tijanae Lazard said.