John Legend: A man in full

Protégé or not, John Legend is already quite accomplished

By Brock Radke

Protégé is a funny word. It's a backhanded compliment. All at once, a protégé is someone worth the investment, capable of grand accomplishment, and yet at the same time in dire need of guidance and opportunity.

You may have seen this funny word printed right before the name of John Legend, a singer and pianist whose new album, Get Lifted, is certainly worth the investment. His songs such as hip-hop soul hit "Used to Love U" and ballad "Ordinary People" (you can see the video playing on VH1 every 10 minutes) prove he is absolutely capable of grand accomplishment. So maybe that's why the phrase "Kanye West protégé John Legend" is all over the place these days.

But the fact is, Legend (his real name is John Stephens) is quite the accomplished musician. He's been playing piano and singing gospel music since he was 5. He recorded with Lauryn Hill when he was a teenager, and he's worked as a writer and played the keys for countless other R&B and hip hop artists.

West may be the biggest name in hip hop today and an undeniable talent, but this Legend guy can blow. Like Hill, he's got one of those perfectly raspy R&B voices, understated but able to reach distant, soulful notes upon command.

So with all this talent, you'd think he'd resent being labeled anybody's protégé. Not the case.

"It doesn't bother me at all. I know how this business works," Legend says from New Orleans, prepping for an opening set on tour with Alicia Keys. "And I'm proud to be associated that way. I'm just happy to be placed with a group of people making good music."

West and Legend actually came up together. West's cousin roomed with Legend in college, and that connection led to working together in the studio.

"We were actually working on our demos at the same time," Legend says. "He was helping me out with some beats, and I was singing the hooks for his [song]. So we developed a great relationship, and we've been working together for about three years."

West has been hailed as a soulful rapper, and some of that soul can be attributed to Legend's contributions to West's Grammy-winning album. As hip hop continues to dominate the charts and water itself down, R&B is slowly making a comeback thanks to artists like Keys and Legend.

"There are a lot of successful artists these days," Legend notes. "Usher, Alicia, me, Anthony Hamilton. But I think it depends more on the artist and not what type of music it is. Hip hop is definitely the dominant form of black music right now, but you don't have to make your music hip hop to play to that crowd. `Ordinary People' is not a hip hop song but it appeals to that audience because they want to hear soulful music."

Legend's soul appeal is unquestionable, yet his sound--or more specifically, his voice--is distinct. He credits various influences, while his gospel roots are an obvious element.

"Church music was definitely it for me when I was a child and that music, I think, is part of the undercurrent of the whole album," he says. "But my voice...I don't know. It's hard to say. I just sing. I listened to a lot of Stevie Wonder but I don't necessarily think I sound like him or I sing like him. A lot of Marvin Gaye, too. Sometimes people have told me I sound like Bob Marley."

Quick success like the kind Legend has seen has other artists clamoring to work with him, but the truth is he's already collaborated with plenty of stars.

"I've worked with just about everybody," he says. "I just talked to Pharrell [Williams of the Neptunes] the other day. I like him a lot. Hopefully we'll do something. And I've been talking with Lauryn Hill about possibly touring. Hopefully we can do a duet."