0:02
uh-huh yo that gave me that gave me
0:05
chills here in bro that gave me chills
0:07
here in that was in 2004 yeah wow when
0:12
this album first came out wow you know
0:14
how I know Tracy G how do you know cuz
0:19
MTV MTV News Tracy G you was there and I
0:25
there hold on let me circulate this
0:28
picture right here wow
0:32
wow I remember that you remember that
0:35
that's Miami wow that's Miami
0:39
2005 classic John and I were staying at
0:41
the same Hotel in Miami that week I
0:44
remember that yes that was awesome um
0:47
and I wanted to find that clip because I
0:50
thought it was so appropriate for why
0:51
we're celebrating the day Tracy G can
0:53
you do honest oh my gosh of course I can
0:55
and we we speak so highly about this man
0:58
behind his back so I might as well talk
1:00
about ju L yeah we were just talking
1:02
about how he is one of our most beloved
1:06
luminaries a complete artist when you
1:09
think about how exceptional he is when
1:11
it comes to songwriting when it comes to
1:14
production when it comes specifically to
1:16
instrumentation the presence the ability
1:19
to bridge Artistry with activism to have
1:23
big impact but that's also connected to
1:25
Pure intention and to be someone who is
1:29
one of the the few in possession of the
1:32
treasured almost mythical egot status he
1:36
has a song for every mil sto a human
1:38
could experience in a lifetime and I
1:41
mean listen the name says it all here to
1:44
celebrate the 20th anniversary of his
1:47
classic debut album get lifted is
1:53
John absolutely 20 years bro
1:56
y yo let that s in man
2:01
let that in John Legend you know I came
2:06
in here and you know I love all of y'all
2:09
and I love being with all of y'all but I
2:11
did not truly expect to feel the amount
2:13
of love I'm getting right now this is
2:15
like extra special and I am truly
2:18
appreciative thank you so much
2:20
absolutely you're so deserving thank you
2:24
I was thinking about you the other day
2:26
um And you're extra special thank you
2:28
you know I've seen the ride and I've
2:30
seen a rise of many right and I I recall
2:33
the first time you sang on the rooftop I
2:35
believe or something like that for me
2:37
you know and um and I was looking at
2:39
something about Muhammad
2:41
Ali and some of the things we knew him
2:44
as a boxer right but some of the things
2:46
he stood for outside of his skill set
2:49
that didn't interfere with his skill set
2:51
in terms of who what he can accomplish
2:52
as a human being yeah U but it's
2:54
definitely what made him great right and
2:57
I was thinking about you as an artist
3:00
and the way you put yourself out there
3:02
for what you believe in outside of the
3:04
studio you know and and utilizing the
3:07
studio to do such things and I thought
3:09
about you from the young man I met who
3:11
used to perform at talent shows in
3:13
Harlem right you know used to come up
3:16
there perform at um Jimm's Uptown Jim's
3:19
Uptown and you didn't know I bring this
3:21
up all the time cuz if I don't nobody
3:23
will that night you were performing at
3:25
was curated by uh Kelly conc and myself
3:28
and that's one before the name remember
3:30
you remember that right to see where
3:32
you've go how far you come man I I'm I'm
3:34
extremely elated and happy for you and
3:37
I'm happy for this Milestone that you've
3:39
achieved 20th anniversary of get lifted
3:43
and I think about you man you when you
3:46
listen to that clip do you feel like you
3:48
accomplished what you set your mind off
3:50
to do at that at that the young John
3:52
Legend that gave me chills man hearing
3:54
that and just thinking about what I
3:56
aspired to do and what I've beened to do
4:00
since then it I feel so grateful I feel
4:03
so grateful for the career I've been
4:05
able to have and it just inspires me to
4:08
just keep going and keep trying to make
4:11
Classics make music that I can be proud
4:13
of and that will stand the test of time
4:16
and uh I'm I'm just going to keep going
4:18
this this just gives me extra motivation
4:19
good man I like that man when when did
4:22
you know for yourself personally when
4:24
did you decide you know what I I got it
4:27
I believe in me well I loved music from
4:29
a young AG I grew up in the church and I
4:31
grew up singing and playing in the
4:32
church and so I would have opportunities
4:35
to sing in front of people and play in
4:37
front of people all the time um and I
4:40
loved it I loved it from a young age and
4:42
so when I would watch the Grammys when I
4:44
would watch Star Search or whatever it
4:47
was the Apollo whatever it was I would
4:51
see myself doing it and I would see
4:53
myself being in that position but I
4:55
didn't know how to do it I was growing
4:57
up in a small City Springfield Ohio and
5:00
I didn't have access to the industry I
5:01
was just making music you know in my
5:03
community but uh when I was 15 years old
5:07
another moment that gave me chills was
5:09
when my dad showed me this essay that I
5:10
wrote when I was 15 mdon from McDonald's
5:14
and it was a Black History Month
5:16
competition and and all they asked was
5:19
how you plan to make black history and I
5:21
said I'm going to become a famous
5:23
recording artist and I'm going to use
5:25
that success to help my people and to
5:28
get back to my community and fight for
5:30
the advanc of black people in this
5:32
country and um I said that when I was 15
5:36
when you were 15 so over 30 years ago I
5:39
said that and and so when I'm doing what
5:42
I'm doing now it's something I
5:44
envisioned for myself when I was 15 wow
5:47
I love that man John Legend is here man
5:49
power of the tongue the 20th anniversary
5:52
debut album get lifted deluxe version is
5:55
available now HB John we saw you last in
6:00
uh the Bay Area Nappa Nappa and Sway and
6:03
I were on the side of the stage and
6:05
there was this moment because you said
6:06
it's something you envision but there
6:08
was this moment when the stage went
6:10
completely dark there was like this dark
6:12
over the the crowd but the state the
6:15
piano was lit and the whole audience was
6:18
just singing along and I thought to
6:20
myself he must be thinking God how
6:24
blessed am I to be living in this dream
6:26
it's like a wave went over everybody and
6:29
and I was wondering do you like feel
6:32
that sometimes like cuz we felt it
6:34
sitting on side of the stage well
6:36
especially in those moments so um when I
6:39
do Ordinary People by myself on the
6:41
piano when I do All of Me by myself on
6:44
the piano that's what it was and I hear
6:46
the whole crowd singing the chorus with
6:48
me it's beautiful it's special and
6:51
there's nothing in the rest of the show
6:54
that feels exactly like that because
6:56
when you feel that Rush of everybody's
6:58
energy joining with you and singing as a
7:01
choir together and that Festival was
7:04
special CU it was us you
7:07
know and lot of us it was a lot of us
7:10
and and um and just hearing us singing
7:15
together as a choir in that uh space uh
7:18
it was incredible I loved it it really
7:20
was beautiful you know when I think
7:22
about that essay you wrote when you were
7:24
15 and I think about your name it
7:26
reminds me a conversation we often have
7:28
in the studio is just how to be mindful
7:31
of the words you say how you cover
7:33
yourself with your own words cuz it's an
7:35
energetic transaction you know with the
7:38
universe with your Creator and Jay Ivy
7:41
who is a great friend of yours and a
7:44
great friend of ours too we know the
7:45
story that J Ivy would W John Legend yes
7:50
and at first you weren't sure even
7:52
though you took on that moniker you
7:53
weren't sure if you wanted a stage name
7:56
yeah can you speak about why you kind of
7:59
had that hesitation but also in
8:01
hindsight for artists who are maybe on
8:03
the fence between choosing a a chosen
8:06
name or going with their government name
8:09
what advice would you give well I
8:11
started out as John Stevens that's why I
8:13
was born and raised as um my first
8:16
credit on an album was uh the
8:18
miseducation of Lauren Hill I played
8:19
piano and I was credited as John R
8:21
Stevens on Everything is Everything
8:24
track 13 on the miseducation of Lauren
8:32
dog I was so proud I was still in
8:34
college and I told everybody who would
8:36
listen I'm on track 13 they started
8:39
calling me track 13 I said it so much so
8:42
um so I I graduate from college and I'm
8:46
uh eventually moving to New York and
8:49
trying to break into this industry and
8:51
working a day job as a Management
8:53
Consultant playing shows at Jimmy's
8:55
Uptown and sobs and all over town and um
9:01
um I I meet Kanye he comes to uh the
9:05
show at Jimmy's Uptown actually right he
9:07
was there he was there his cousin
9:09
invited him to the show his cousin dvo
9:12
was my roommate and so dvo invites him
9:14
to the show and um I start working with
9:18
him and he's trying to get signed as a
9:21
rapper even though he's already
9:22
producing for Jay and and the rest of
9:24
the guys are Rockefeller records and um
9:28
and then I'm trying to get signed as a
9:29
R&B artist and we start working together
9:32
he's producing my demo and then I'm
9:34
singing and writing with him on his demo
9:36
which eventually became The College
9:37
Dropout and J IV is also from Chicago
9:41
like Kanye is yes Grammy Award winning J
9:43
J Grammy Award win yes he created the
9:47
category then won how you doing
9:51
twice one of our great spoken word
9:54
artist and if you listen back to College
9:55
Dropout he's on never let me down and so
9:58
he was in those session with us and um
10:01
he started calling me the legend and
10:04
that morphed into John Legend and um the
10:07
whole crew Starks Calling Me John Legend
10:09
and you know it just becomes the name
10:12
that I'm called around our Circle and
10:15
then eventually Kanye's putting out
10:17
mixtapes and putting me as John Legend
10:19
on the mixtape and I hadn't officially
10:21
changed my stage name but it's basically
10:23
like the name is choosing me right
10:25
exactly and um I had to decide whether
10:28
or not I was going to make it official
10:30
and part of me is like are you crazy man
10:33
you a't even got a record deal how you
10:34
going to call yourself a
10:36
legend like the audacity the audacity to
10:40
call yourself a legend and eventually I
10:42
was like you know what if it doesn't
10:45
work out then it doesn't work out but
10:47
I'm going to go down trying I'm going to
10:50
go down making a statement saying
10:51
something bold about myself saying
10:53
something audacious about myself uh with
10:56
my name letting it announce my presence
10:59
before I even show up and then I've just
11:01
got to try to go and live up to it and
11:03
when I hear myself talking to you in
11:05
that interview uh what I'm thinking is
11:07
I'm saying to myself if I'm going to
11:09
call myself John Legend I'm going to
11:11
have to back it up with the music and
11:13
with the work that I do and so that's
11:15
what I've been trying to do since then
11:17
wow my man John Legend legend just to be
11:21
straight Mike m jump in there man good
11:23
to see you John good to see you when I
11:25
think about you I think about Joe's puff
11:26
and that's when I first had a chance to
11:28
meet you as you performing at
11:29
and I knew you're going to be special
11:31
then yes those early Forest yeah Forest
11:34
he was promoter for that he did that but
11:37
I have a question about I me we can talk
11:38
about your Artistry all day but I've
11:40
always been impressed with your activism
11:43
and social justice work um and to give
11:45
you the credit you were doing it before
11:47
it was cool and it was trendy and it
11:49
became as popular how did you reconcile
11:52
your position of wanting to use your
11:55
voice for good in that time period when
11:57
people were curious about their brain
11:59
brand and how it impact them
12:00
economically mhm well you know I I
12:03
didn't think of it as something new or
12:05
something uh you know Visionary to do I
12:08
looked at it as part of the Legacy that
12:10
we're all part of you know our ancestors
12:12
did this for us and uh um I've over the
12:16
years become friends with people like
12:17
Stevie Wonder and Harry Bonte and Quincy
12:20
Jones and and um artha Franklin and and
12:25
I saw how they used their position they
12:28
were a huge s you know making huge
12:30
records winning Grammys selling out
12:33
venues but they also were uh marching
12:36
with Dr King and and right reolution and
12:39
using their money to support the
12:41
movement and so when I wrote that essay
12:44
when I was 15 I already was aware of uh
12:47
the artists who had come before me who
12:49
had done exactly that wow like they knew
12:52
that part of them being who they were
12:54
and being black in America and having
12:57
this unique position was that
12:59
they would use that success to help
13:01
their community and I think as black
13:03
artists we we like we have a special
13:05
responsibility to carry on that Legacy
13:08
right John Legend is here get this man a
13:10
big round of applause we're talking
13:12
about the 20th anniversary of his debut
13:15
lifted um on this project man you
13:17
solicit a lot of great people to be a
13:20
part of this man and I I want to talk
13:21
about some of these folks you know from
13:24
Lauren Hill from Killer Mike all from
13:27
Tims yes how did you go about about like
13:29
a lot of times people they they mess it
13:31
up John you know what I mean they do the
13:33
20 the deluxe they add [ __ ] and they
13:35
mess it up bro so so one we didn't want
13:39
to mess with the original song so the
13:42
original songs sound like they sounded
13:45
and so the first two LPS are just the
13:48
original music as you fell in love with
13:50
it from day one but we thought it'd be
13:53
cool to uh reinvigorate them on the
13:56
third LP and so after you listen to the
13:58
original versions you can listen to
14:00
these new remix versions and uh the one
14:04
the Lauren Hill remix she actually did
14:06
that with me back in the day so so that
14:09
was from' 05 we recorded that W cleff
14:12
produced it and um Lauren was signed to
14:17
uh Columbia still at the time and wlef
14:19
was as well Lisa Ellis was my uh label
14:22
exact that's right and she wa shout out
14:25
to Lisa Ellis she's legendary
14:29
and she was working on all of our
14:31
projects and she made it happen I and I
14:34
was like are we really going to get Miss
14:36
Hill on this song cuz she was already
14:40
retreating and uh she was rarely making
14:43
new music and uh I was like there's no
14:45
way this is going to be possible but she
14:47
worked her magic and Miss Hill agreed to
14:50
be on the record with wlef producing it
14:53
and like how crazy is that as somebody
14:55
that I was in college when the score
14:58
came out uh I was in college uh and got
15:04
miseducation don't forget it but these
15:07
these albums were so influential to all
15:10
of us as young artists who were trying
15:12
to do what we were trying to do and uh
15:15
the idea of me being able to collaborate
15:18
with both of them for a remix to So High
15:21
um it was amazing so the So High remix
15:24
is actually from that period from 2005
15:27
2006 so Evergreen yes but then
15:29
everything else all the other remixes
15:31
after that were all stuff we did uh this
15:33
year for the Remix album so we got
15:36
Killer Mike and Lil Wayne to be on let's
15:38
get lifted again remix uh we had um
15:42
Black Thought from The Roots uh on a
15:44
used to love you remix with the uh beat
15:46
by ninth Wonder um we had uh TS on the
15:50
Ordinary People remix produced by my
15:52
music director man man and um uh Sim on
15:57
The Refuge remix and um I'm just so
16:01
proud of all the uh the exciting new
16:04
things we did to the music to
16:05
reinvigorate it and make it feel really
16:07
good but uh we left the originals alone
16:11
okay good and then and then we gave you
16:14
some spice at the end in case you were
16:16
interested that was smart because when I
16:18
listened to it I was listening to the
16:19
originals initially it got me back you
16:21
got me in the vibe and it and it made
16:24
the receiving the newer remixes even
16:27
more better to me was like and you did
16:29
great at it colani you want to chime in
16:31
uh yeah I had a I had a question for you
16:38
so so when you talk about uh Miss Lauren
16:41
Hill um Mike Muse was telling me earlier
16:44
that he had attended uh a book listening
16:47
party for you at audio audio oh the
16:49
audible yes um and he said that you had
16:52
mentioned someone on the stage that was
16:55
very like like vital to the process of
16:58
you collaborating with Miss Lauren Hill
17:00
yeah um and that person is susette
17:02
Williams that that's my mother oh my
17:06
God I I kind of I wanted to ask how did
17:08
you like get to like talk to her like
17:10
how did you know her so I was introduced
17:12
to her by uh Tara Michelle so Tara um
17:16
sang with Lauren she um uh went to
17:19
Columbia High School in Jersey with
17:21
Lauren and um she also grew up partly in
17:26
Scranton Pennsylvania so I inter with
17:29
Tara in Scranton because um while I was
17:32
at school at upen in Philadelphia I
17:34
would drive up to Scranton to play piano
17:37
for this am Church up in Scranton
17:39
Pennsylvania so on the weekends I would
17:41
be going back and forth to Scranton and
17:43
playing piano at this church where uh
17:45
Tara parley grew up and so she was
17:47
singing in the choir and but she was
17:49
also going over to Jersey to help Miss
17:51
Hill with her album and Suzette was uh
17:54
Miss Hills an anr at the time your
18:03
born and she was an andring for her and
18:07
and working at Columbia Sony and um so
18:10
when it was finally time for the album
18:12
to almost come out as an anrs do they
18:15
start doing all the housekeeping to make
18:16
sure everybody's credited and paid
18:19
properly and so the first time I spoke
18:21
to your mother was her calling me up
18:24
asking how my name should be spelled for
18:26
the album credits and how much I wanted
18:34
paid yo you should shoot them your
18:39
cash that's dope shout out to
18:42
Uzi shout out to John man this is amaz
18:45
John Legend said to us at the the Blue
18:47
Note jazz festival cuz Heather and I
18:49
were hosting it yes and you came out of
18:51
your trailer and said I want to come on
18:56
okay I said all right man we win tril
18:59
you think he's serious Heather she said
19:00
he looked like he was serious he's the
19:02
man of his word he's here right here get
19:04
up to my brother right here man um the
19:07
other thing I appreciate about you
19:09
because I I have a daughter of um who's
19:11
26 she goes to Howard she's in grad
19:13
school that's just I just want to say
19:15
that while you studying what's she
19:17
studying Finance Investment Banking
19:19
investment yeah yeah she get this money
19:22
well she she she's trying to get to the
19:23
Future she understands that we got to
19:25
get into that infrastructure right we
19:28
got building our own infrastructure but
19:30
it's it's been a challenge for me over
19:31
the years you know trying to integrate
19:33
my career with my child's life because
19:36
things that I say or things that
19:37
happened to me when she got into high
19:40
school I realized oh damn it I can't say
19:42
these things CU they impact her how have
19:45
you gone about it you you're always in
19:47
the news whether it's great or
19:49
controversial U saying with Chrissy you
19:51
know how do y'all prep your kids for
19:53
this what I mean I know it's new but
19:55
what's your formula well I don't know EX
19:58
ly how aware they are of news coverage
20:01
of us yet um so I feel like um when
20:05
they're teenagers they'll probably no
20:06
more they don't have their own devices
20:08
they're not um they have iPad at home
20:11
but they're not on social media um and
20:14
we pretty strictly regulate their screen
20:17
time and stuff like that so they're not
20:19
seeing the news about us yet they know
20:22
we're famous they see us on the
20:24
billboard they go to my shows they see
20:26
us on TV sometimes um but I don't think
20:30
they're seeing uh any kind of
20:33
controversial coverage of us yet but at
20:35
some point you know they will and
20:37
they'll be able to you know Google us
20:39
like anybody else can and see us on the
20:41
news like anybody else can and I think
20:44
um it's incumbent on us to try to live
20:47
the kind of life that our kids can be
20:48
proud of you know so that when we're
20:50
covered and it's controversial it's
20:52
because we're doing something that's
20:53
right that's controversial and if we're
20:56
standing up for something um
20:58
controversial like women's rights to do
21:00
what they need to do with their own
21:02
bodies um our kids will be proud of us
21:05
for doing that I love it John Legend man
21:08
I'm going go to these phone lines right
21:09
now the music is out now the 20th
21:11
anniversary get lifted album is out now
21:14
we got LG from DC on up LG LG what up
21:18
good morning good morning good morning
21:22
morning Lonnie light DB who else iow
21:27
Andor y Muse what up and my boy Sway in
21:30
the Morning congratulations to you on
21:32
your Callaway day yesterday but I called
21:35
to talk to Mr John le all right all
21:37
right then let's get thank you for the
21:39
shout out though where we calling from
21:41
I'm calling from Washington DC this is
21:43
my second call I called months ago and
21:45
let you know that I was a a gunshot
21:47
wound Survivor and I was homeless living
21:49
out of my car and y'all changed my life
21:51
that wake up every morning I listen to
21:53
it I tag y'all every day my God I tag
21:56
you every day I just talk to torch
21:57
yesterday I tag T yesterday hey but hey
22:00
but LG John John John's on the time
22:02
limit go ahead what's your question yeah
22:04
I promise I'm sorry I'm sorry John I
22:05
just wanted to call you and let you know
22:07
20 years ago when you dropped that album
22:09
brother you helped me out when I used to
22:11
have two legs I was singing You ordinary
22:14
people everywhere get lifted everywhere
22:17
I'm talking about so much so you helped
22:19
me get a lot of trim Dela trim homie
22:21
trim trim wow with three legs or with
22:25
two legs come on look look I might got
22:27
one leg two but I I might got one leg
22:30
now but I still got two Tracy G don't
22:35
your where remember John's on the phone
22:40
right go DC and hold hands publicly all
22:45
through the streets I shouted out DC and
22:49
she don't have to know DC there you go
22:52
hey you a citizen brother morning OD is
22:56
on the line from North Carolina Odie
22:59
hey hey y'all good morning this is Odie
23:01
from Raleigh uh I called in I'm the one
23:03
with the Ganan Uncle who's in politics
23:06
okay neither here nor there all right
23:08
look I had to call in because I met John
23:12
Legend in fville years ago and he did my
23:15
voicemail greeting and I was praying
23:18
that you would be nice enough to do that
23:20
again visual voicemail came and wrecked
23:22
my whole [ __ ] oh my gosh wow right now
23:26
me and I had no intention of deleting it
23:27
ever maybe maybe maybe he can do it like
23:31
live on air you know what's funny is the
23:33
first time I did somebody's voicemail
23:35
was my uh College classmate she lived in
23:37
my hall her name is Teresa and I said
23:40
Teresa's not home Teresa's not home
23:45
leave your name and number she'll call
23:48
you back and that was what I did and I
23:50
still remember that for some reason and
23:53
uh I could do a version with your name
23:55
what's your name again it's odl you said
23:58
um hey you reach odl get lifted in
24:04
now a l a OD OD your name is
24:08
odle odl oqu she she's Ganan man okay
24:13
odl o qu okay go ahead see what he can
24:16
do go ahead O's not home old is not home
24:22
leave your name and number she'll call
24:26
back oh Sway in the Morning
24:29
the morning and I get to 20th
24:32
anniversary edition's out right now
24:33
there you go man all right man oldie you
24:37
a citizen way in the morning yo listen
24:39
John I know you got a lot to do but
24:41
thank you for coming by he can do a drop
24:43
for us with SW the morning
24:49
right damn it Odie got one we ain't got
24:52
one sh what you want me to say what uh
24:55
SW you the morning it's John yeah there
24:59
you go hey it's John hey it's John
25:01
Legend and you're listening to Sway in
25:06
up nah we want that e
25:10
voice was good I got you I got
25:14
you here we go wake up everybody there's
25:19
no sleeping in bed sway is on your radio
25:24
listen to what he said get up y'all it's
25:27
John Legend don't Sway in the
25:34
Morning man John I love
25:37
you brother let's keep doing more
25:40
brother that was great thank you so much
25:43
you thank you that's John Legend man
25:45
let's go into that Lauren Hill joint