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.
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.
I always figured I would live long enough to see a black president. The movies predicted it. Usually, Morgan Freeman.
The prison-industrial complex, poverty, and the school system has more effect on a young black male in America than Jay-Z does, by far. And that's not a diss to Jay-Z. The crime rate in the black community was high before hip hop. Rapping about it is just a reflection of the life a lot of people are living.
Hip hop is usually a bunch of guys talking to a bunch of guys, in my experience. It's homosocial, not homosexual, in that it's almost always all one gender in a room where it's being created. That locker-room environment has an impact on the language. I think the music suffers 'cause it allows an almost cartoonish level of misogyny.
I've always had an interest in story-telling and history and just film and art in general, but particularly when it comes to storytelling, I think the reason why we became involved in film is because we wanted to get some great stories out there.
The video aside, 'P.D.A' is a song about when you really love somebody, you just can't resist wanting to show that out in public sometimes.
I was around a lot of gospel as a kid.
I don't think it's an artist's responsibility to be political all the time. I think your first responsibility as an artist is to make music that people will listen to and enjoy. However, I think that when you are able to say something that is moving and put it in a great song, then that is even better.
People like Dick Gregory, Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone show me what the definition of an artist is - it isn't just to make art but to speak truth to what's happening, speak beauty into the world, speak love into the world and also... get involved.
In New York especially, I always want to wear a nice overcoat to get through the winter: you can wear them so many times, and they make every outfit better.
Shoes are important, of course. I love my Lanvin sneakers - they go with a lot of things. And then I think a nice bag is great, so you carry your computer or whatever else in style. I've been carrying a Tom Ford backpack lately.
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.
I feel like fashion is making steps toward diversity, but I think they could do more.
My fried chicken is very simple. I pan-fry it in a skillet.
As a kid, I wanted to be a musician but also aspired to be Andy Griffith's lawyer character, Ben Matlock.
You learn so much from taking chances, whether they work out or not. Either way, you can grow from the experience and become stronger and smarter.Collection: Motivational
We all must follow a different path to let our light shine, and that's what makes us so unpredictable and unique.Collection: Unique
I believed in myself and I am a firm believer you have to think the things you want and visualize.Collection: Thinking
The best way to fight poverty is to empower people through access to quality educationCollection: Fighting
The biggest weapon is to stay peacefulCollection: Peaceful
I want you to live the best life you can. You can be world-changers. .. Pursue this life of love with focus and passion and ambition and courage. Give it your all. And that will be your path to true success.Collection: Passion
The future started yesterday, and we're already late.Collection: Future
A just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. Love for the least among us. Love for those who look different or worship differently. Love for those we don't even know.Collection: Family Love
I keep learning, listening, growing and experimenting.Collection: Listening
We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country. It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration.Collection: Country
Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfectionsCollection: Love You
Critics like to describe and categorize things, and categories often have a way of limiting people.Collection: People
My head’s under water but I’m breathing fineCollection: Breathing
I feel like my job is to make impact, spread love, tell great stories, inspire people, that's what I am going to do.Collection: Jobs
I just want it to be timeless and timely at the same time.Collection: Want
We're just ordinary people. We don't know which way to go.Collection: People
If a relationship is going to work, it will require compromise and, even then, it is not always going to end the way you want it to.Collection: Want
All men should be feminists. If men cared about women's rights, the world would be a better placeCollection: Independent
The struggle for freedom and justice is now.Collection: Struggle
Why wouldn't I help? What good reason do I have as a human being with power and a sense of empathy and morality, why wouldn't I do something?Collection: Helping Others
I only want to be associated with music that is high quality. That's my main criteria.Collection: Quality
But in my mind I've always been a solo artist- I've just been working with a lot of great people like Kanye and Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.Collection: Artist
Kind of the critical acclaim of this movie [La La Land] is that it's striking a chord with the public in a way that has been really beautiful and powerful.Collection: Beautiful
My mother, I want her to like my music, but she's not exactly my target audience. So I care more about the fans in general, just making sure they enjoy what I do.Collection: Mother
I was the front man of the choir and then when I was 12 and I was the leadsinger of my highschool groups.Collection: Men
If you want the film [La La Land ] to represent all things jazz, it does not. You'll be disappointed by that. But, if you just see it as one guy's point of view, one filmmaker's point of view, and one story among many stories that can be told about jazz, then it's not as much of an issue.Collection: Views
Sometimes success is just limited to festival circuit.Collection: Festivals
Music business is hard. It's very difficult. And it's not for everyone. Even if you can sing or even if you can write a song, it takes a lot of determination, it takes some kind of thick skin.Collection: Song
I care more about the fans in general, just making sure they enjoy what I do. And then also I kind of had this kind of ideal of the kind of music I want to make and what I'm aiming for kind of creatively and just the quality of the music that I'm trying to make. And I have that in my head.Collection: Trying
I've always followed politics, and I think politics is everybody's business because we're electing someone who's going to be making important decisions that will affect all of our lives.Collection: Thinking
If I collaborate with people, ideas...they take interesting turns and twists, and I'm excited for that and that process and excited to see what we come up with.Collection: Ideas
I wrote the song "Show Me" as a prayer to God asking simple, honest questions about life and death and why there is so much suffering in the world. As I grew with the song I realized I shouldn't limit these questions solely to God; I should ask those questions of others and of myself.Collection: Song
I think the most important thing is that I'm making music that the people enjoy. So the fans, the people that are out there listening to music and consuming music, I want them to enjoy it and love it. And so that's more important to me than Grammys.Collection: Thinking