John Legend Talks Stripping His ‘LEGEND’ Songs ‘Down to Their Essence’ for New Piano Album

When we first met John Legend as a solo artist, it was through the quiet 2005 piano ballad “Ordinary People” — so it only makes sense that, nearly two decades later, Legend is going back to basics for his next project, LEGEND (Solo Piano Version).

The singer/songwriter took 10 songs from his most recent album, September’s LEGEND, and stripped them down to new piano versions, adding a pair of fresh covers to the Friday (Feb. 10) release. After years of performing with just a piano, Legend thought the idea made perfect sense.

“Half of my gigs are solo gigs. Even though we’ve done a huge production in Vegas, we’ve done big tours with like a nine-piece band all around the world, often a lot of my favorite shows are the ones where it’s just me and a piano,” he tells Katie & Keith on the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen below). “And I think my fans like it, because it strips the songs down to their essence and they hear my voice, the lyrics, the melodies really purely.”

One revelation in making the album was LEGEND‘s second single “Honey,” originally featuring brand-new Grammy winner Muni Long, which Legend decided to bump up to the piano project’s opening track.

“The one I changed from the original the most was ‘Honey,’” he says. “I made it more kind of slow, I did it without a tempo, and it’s just kind of free and a little more jazzy. And I loved doing that spin on the song. It’s much different than the original, and it feels really fresh and new.”

The two covers Legend recorded for the album are Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and Sade’s “By My Side,” which he’s planning to include on the setlist for his upcoming Feb. 13 and 14 pair of Valentine’s Day concerts at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall.

“One of my managers loves Sade, and she suggested that I try a Sade song,” Legend tells the Pop Shop. “And she even suggested ‘By Your Side,’ among a few other ideas that she had. And that was the one that just stuck out to me and I just kept humming it in my head and just felt like, ‘I would feel really good singing that melody and those lyrics.’ And I sat at the piano and started working it out. And I just loved the feeling that it gave me. I love Sade anyway, but this song, particularly, I think is really special and beautiful. I love the sentiment of it, and I really loved performing it.”

Is Legend — who performed as a supporting act on Sade’s last tour in 2011 — impatiently waiting for Sade’s first album since 2010 Soldier of Love like most music fans? “You know she’s gonna take her time,” he laughs. “I literally was on the last tour. That was 12 years ago!”

While Legend would love to take his piano show to other venues besides the Walt Disney Concert Hall, he’s trying to stay close to home at the moment, with the Jan. 13 birth of his new baby Esti. “We’ll do more,” he promised. “It’s gonna be sporadic since we had a baby and I’m trying to work a little bit less. I’ll probably do occasional weekends where we’ll go off to different cities and do shows. But it won’t be kind of a steady tour.”

Legend is staying plenty busy around L.A. this week, performing at Friday night’s MusiCares Persons of the Year gala honoring Motown founder Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, taping the Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys on Wednesday night (Feb. 8), and joining DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Fridayy for a pre-taped Grammys-closing performance of their song of the year nominee “God Did.” The Pop Shop spoke to Legend ahead of Sunday’s Grammy Awards, when he marveled at the unifying powers of Khaled.

“Everyone is so gifted and so powerful as an artist in their own right,” he said. “And for us all to be together — that’s the genius of DJ Khaled. He’s really great at putting all of us together. He’s like the world’s greatest A&R for hip-hop. He’s such a great convener. He brings us all together and makes magic happen.”

Listen to the latest Pop Shop Podcast episode above for the rest of the conversation, including his thoughts on the final Voice season for Blake Shelton, who’s “been the heart and soul of the show for so long.”

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how new songs from The Kid LAROI, Zach Bryan and Maggie Rogers, and P!nk all debut on the Billboard Hot 100, while TOMORROW X TOGETHER notches its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and both Sam Smith and Lil Yachty bow in the top 10 with their latest releases.

Plus, we talk all about last Sunday’s Grammy Awards and this Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime spectacular, where Rihanna will headline the show.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s senior director of charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

/by

Grammy Salute to Hip-Hop to Tape in August: What We Know About 50th-Anniversary Special

If the all-star salute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop on the 65th annual Grammy Awards left you wanting more, the Grammys have more on the way. A two-hour, Grammy-branded special will tape on Aug. 11, which is the 50th anniversary (to the day!) of a back-to-school party in The Bronx that many point to as the beginning of hip-hop culture. CBS will broadcast the special later this year.

Questlove, who curated the 15-minute spot on Sunday’s Grammy telecast, will have a role in the special, though his exact title is to be determined. Jesse Collins, an executive producer of the Grammy telecast, will produce the special.

Related

Busta Rhymes, Grammy Awards

2023 Grammys Celebrates 50 Years of Hip-Hop With an All-Star Performance

While many will assume that the success of the spot on the Grammy telecast led CBS to hurry a special into production, the special was in the works before anyone knew there would be a segment on the telecast, according to a source.

Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, hinted at the upcoming special in a statement announcing the telecast segment. “For five decades, Hip Hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture,” he said. “Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I’m so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage. It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music.”
 
Questlove has mentioned the upcoming special in his post-Grammy tweets. Talking about why certain artists were booked for the hip-hop tribute and others weren’t, he tweeted:

The hip-hop segment on the Grammy telecast, which featured three dozen rap acts, drew universal praise. Billboard’s Joe Lynch pegged it as the best performance on the telecast. “While it’s an impossible task to sum up 50 years of any genre (much less one that fought for decades to get a modicum of mainstream respect and eventually became the dominant genre in American music), this electrifying medley brought to vivid life the charged personalities, thumping grooves, deft deliveries and unpredictable flourishes that make hip-hop a global force.”

The segment was produced by Questlove, Collins, Patrick Menton of Fulwell 73, creative producer Fatima Robinson and Shawn Gee, Questlove’s manager and president of LNU. The segment is part of Paramount Global’s companywide initiative to honor the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. 

The Grammys have not always been hip-hop supporters. The Grammys didn’t have a dedicated category for rap or hip-hop until the 1988 awards, which were presented on Feb. 22, 1989. D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s genial pop hit “Parents Just Don’t Understand” was the first hip-hop recording to win a Grammy (best rap performance). But they weren’t invited to perform on the show that year.

A year later, on Feb. 21, 1990, the duo became the first hip-hop act to perform on the Grammys. “We’d like to dedicate this performance to all the rappers last year that stood with us and helped us to earn the right to be on this stage tonight,” Will Smith said before he and D.J. Jazzy Jeff launched into “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.”

Both Questlove and Collins are coming off major honors for their work. Questlove won both an Oscar (his first) and a Grammy (his sixth) in 2022 for directing the documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). Collins won his first Primetime Emmy in 2022 as an executive producer of The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, which was voted outstanding variety special (live).

CBS, which has broadcast the Grammy telecast since 1973, will air a second Grammy-branded special this year – A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys. The special, the latest in a series of “Grammy Salute” specials, will be taped on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The Beach Boys and hip-hop are in very different musical worlds, of course, but it’s worth noting that the Beach Boys had a sizable hit in 1987 (No. 12 hit on the Hot 100) with a collab with the Brooklyn rap trio Fat Boys. The two groups teamed for a remake of The Surfaris’ 1963 classic “Wipeout.”

The fact that a quintessential American vocal group teamed with a rap group 36 years ago is more evidence, as if any more were needed, of hip-hop’s reach and endurance.

/by

Nessa Barrett Talks Her Tattoos for Cooper, Love For Nicki Minaj & More | Billboard News

Nessa Barrett shows off her favorite tattoo honoring her friend Cooper, her dream collaboration, her favorite nostalgic snack and more.

/by

Diplo Says Beyoncé ‘Deserves Her Flowers’ After Dance/Electronic Grammys Wins

Beyoncé made history at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 5), becoming the artist with the most awards in Grammy history. This year, the star won four awards, including two in the dance/electronic category.

Diplo, who was also up for best dance/electronic recording and best dance/electronic music album at the ceremony, took to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 7) to reflect on dance music and Bey’s wins.

The DJ thanked the dance music community for “being my purpose in this life and shaping my career,” adding that the genre “has and will be the most Inclusive music of our generation,” with fans of different races, sexualities, socioeconomic backgrounds and ages all over the world. “You don’t need to be a savant or a great musician to be part of dance music u just have to love to move and have confidence,” he added.

As for the Grammys, Diplo celebrated the dance/electronic music categories being televised for the first time. “Beyoncé album was legendary (i’m a beyonce a stan remember I produced some classic dance songs for her like ’til the end of time’ and ‘girls run the world,’” he wrote. “What’s important to understand was that her intention was 100%. she did the work found the real producers and she made classics .. so she deserves her flowers . and when she won i was just proud to see my nomination on the screen in the huge arena..”

The post comes amid speculation that Diplo said “they bought that” when the camera panned to him at the Grammys after Beyoncé won the award. On Instagram, however, the producer revealed that he actually said, “I’m glad to be part of that.”

See his post below.

/by

Zach Bryan’s Twitter Account Seemingly Deactivated

Zach Bryan, fresh off a collaboration with Maggie Rogers and a nomination for best country solo performance at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, seemingly deactivated his Twitter account on Tuesday (Feb. 7).

When fans attempt to visit his @zachlanebryan Twitter handle, a message pops up, saying, “This account doesn’t exist,” though his Instagram account is still active.

A rep for Bryan declined to comment on Bryan’s now nonexistent Twitter handle. The deleted Twitter page is interesting, as Bryan is known for having a constant, direct connection with his fans, primarily via social media platforms.

The release of “Dawns,” featuring Rogers, was a promise fulfilled to Bryan’s fans, after he had previously vowed to release the track if the Philadelphia Eagles won against the New York Giants; on Jan. 21, the Eagles triumphed over the Giants, 38-7, writing their ticket to Sunday’s Super Bowl.

Currently, Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” sits atop Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for a sixth week, while his American Heartbreak album ranks at No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart, just behind Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album.

He followed American Heartbreak with the EP Summertime Blues and the live album All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks). True to his album title, Bryan’s upcoming Burn, Burn, Burn Tour will be handled primarily via AXS. The tour launches May 10 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., and concludes at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 30 and includes stops in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and more.

/by

Two locked up after a missing Broward man was found dead and buried in another county

Two people landed behind bars after the body of a man who went missing in Broward County was found buried in east-central Florida, authorities said Monday. Trinity Bownes, 31, his … Click to Continue »
/by

Miami’s airport just had its busiest year ever — and now it’s ranked No. 1 in Florida

Miami International Airport marked a record-breaking 50.6 million passengers in 2022, the busiest year on record, according to county officials. MIA barely squeaked by Orlando International Airport’s 50.1 million passengers … Click to Continue »
/by

South Florida resort sold for $835M, the biggest deal for a U.S. hotel since COVID

Hollywood has made history, drawing the biggest hospitality deal in the country since the start of the pandemic. The oceanfront Diplomat Beach Resort sold for $835 million on Monday, according … Click to Continue »
/by

MSG Drops Venue Ban for Lawyers Involved in Tao Group Litigation As It Preps Sale

It’s a banner day for New York attorney Kurt Dominic Robertson, who is no longer persona non grata at the world’s most famous arena.

The same goes for the attorneys at Los Angeles law firm Wilshire Law Group, New York lawyer Laura Rosenberg and non-lawyer Ryan Kenneth Randall, a Las Vegas resident representing himself in a lawsuit filed against Tao Group, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the “guy who punched me at 10:30 pm on a Saturday Memorial Day Weekend the police took into custody.”

Related

Madison Square Garden

‘The Garden Has to Defend Itself’: MSG Chief James Dolan Hits Back at Facial…

Robertson and those others are all involved in litigation against Madison Square Garden-owned Tao Group and were barred from entering the Manhattan arena or any other MSG property under a controversial policy enacted by chairman James Dolan last year. But that all changed today when the company announced it was selling Tao Group and lifting “the adverse attorney policy for any litigation currently pending with Tao entities.” MSG paid $181 million for a 62.5% interest in the hospitality group in 2017.

“This is great news,” says attorney Kurt Robertson, who was banned from MSG properties for representing a client in a personal injury lawsuit filed against a Tao venue in Manhattan.

“When I first got the letter about the ban, I thought it was a prank,” Robertson continues. After calling MSG’s lawyers and learning that the ban was being enforced via facial recognition software, he says, “I decided I wasn’t going to test the policy” and allow himself to be made an example of by MSG security staff.

Robertson and other attorneys suing Tao are no longer barred from entering any MSG-owned property, including the Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theater, the Chicago Theatre and the soon-to-open Sphere in Las Vegas.

Attorneys suing other MSGE entities, along with all employees at their law firms, are still banned from entering all MSGE-owned facilities and risk being escorted off the premises by MSG staff if they are recognized by MSG’s facial recognition software.

The controversial rule, affecting an estimated 90 law firms, is currently being challenged by a number of private law firms along with Attorney General Letitia James, who voiced concern in a Jan. 24 letter that any attempts by MSG “to dissuade individuals from filing discrimination complaints or encouraging those in active litigation to drop their lawsuits so they may access popular entertainment events at the Company’s venues may violate state and city laws prohibiting retaliation.”

James also warned that “research suggests that the Company’s use of facial recognition software may be plagued with biases and false positives against people of color and women.”

MSGE stock was up about 2% in after-market trading on the news.

/by

MC Lyte & Lil Kim Talk ‘Sisterhood’ at Mastercard’s ‘She Runs This’ Event Celebrating Entrepreneurship in Business & Hip-Hop

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Lil’ Kim and MC Lyte spoke to the importance of “sisterhood” during the kick-off of Mastercard’s “She Run This” event over Grammy weekend in celebration of Black entrepreneurship in business and hip-hop.

The three-day event, which was held in collaboration with Femme It Forward to spotlight entrepreneurship in business and hip-hop, launched with a three-part panel discussion featuring rap vets Kim, MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa and Yo-Yo, alongside emerging artists such as Coi Leray, Baby Tate and Jozzy, and a special appearance by Mastercard ambassador Jennifer Hudson.

During the panel discussion, Lyte explained why she didn’t want to work with other women in the beginning of her career and how her mind-set changed. “All that I’d heard was that working with women wasn’t a good thing because they were so emotional. I adopted this thought, but the truth was, I had to become responsible in the way that I communicated,” she shared with an audience of mostly women at 1010 Wine and Events in Inglewood, Calif., on Thursday (Feb. 2). The Partners in Rhyme star hired a female manager 13 years ago, who has since became her business partner and COO of “everything MC Lyte.”

“There is a way that you can communicate with love and care and kindness and I had not learned that when I [first started out],” she continued. “What I can say now is this business that I’m in is the best for me because I know what sisterhood is.”

Added Kim, “I never knew what it felt like to be unprotected around my sisters. Especially in a male-dominated [industry]. It was hard, but when I was in the comfort of my sisters, I was at my peak. I felt the most powerful.”

“We did everything together,” Kim said of forging a solid sisterhood with MC Lyte, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Da Brat, Queen Latifah and stylist Misa Hilton early in their careers. Kim has collaborated with fellow female artists on “Ladies Night,” featuring Elliott, Blige, Brat, Left Eye and Angie Martinez; and Christina Aguilera’s “Lady Marmalade” remake with Kim, Pink and Mya.

And after more than 25 years in the rap game, the Queen Bee continues to show support for the new school of female rappers (she recently brought out Lola Brooke during her show at the Apollo Theater).

“Sisterhood and having your sister’s back is important, and Kim always had my back,” said Hilton. “A lot of things started to happen quickly [in her career], so all of a sudden people may try to come between us. People [would] want Kim to do a certain fashion magazine and they’d say, ‘We want to use this stylist,’ but what did she say? ‘Misa has to be there.’ Sticking together and not being afraid to stick up for yourself, not feeling like you’re going to miss out on an opportunity and realizing the power in your voice [is important]. You can demand what you want and you can bring your sisters with you.”

Coi Leray and Yo-Yo
Coi Leray and Yo-Yo attend Mastercard She Runs This, celebrating entrepreneurship for Black Women in Business and the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop in a three-part panel discussion series in partnership with Femme It Forward during GRAMMY Week at Sip & Sonder on Feb. 4, 2023 in Los Angeles.

“Everything that I do is everything that I wanted to do when I was 7 years old,” said MC Lyte, whose debut album Lyte as a Rock turns 35 this year. Throughout her career, the Brooklyn native has crossed over from rapping to acting to voice-over work. “I wanted to be on radio, I wanted to use my voice,” she said. “I saw Tootie [played by Kim Fields] on The Facts of Life and I was like, ‘I got to get to Los Angeles because I need to do some acting.’ I wanted to do all those things, but I also realized I had to prepare myself. I couldn’t just show up because [I’m ] MC Lyte; I had to know the skill set. I went to acting school, I went to voice-over coaching classes and workshops. I was just prepared for the moment so as the opportunities lined up, I was able to show up and show out.”

The “She Runs This” campaign includes an immersive “Small Business City” built in Meta Horizon Worlds, a TikTok challenge kicked off by Hudson, an ad campaign furthering Mastercard’s mission to help Black women entrepreneurs thrive, and a Fearless Fund grant contest in partnership with Fearless Fund, a Black-owned venture capital fund aimed at helping women of color. Mastercard and Fearless Fund are providing Black women small business owners with $20,000 grants, plus digital tools and mentorship to help them “build, protect and sustain their business.”

Additionally, Mastercard and Amazon have teamed up for a small business marketplace spotlighting Black women-owned small businesses. The digital marketplace allows owners to share their brand origin stories and connect directly with customers on Amazon Live. Customers can also explore the shoppable social hub of products from exclusively Black women-owned small businesses on Pinterest.

According to Mastercard, 80 percent of U.S. women entrepreneurs, solo-preneurs, small business owners and content creators have endured financial challenges. In recognizing this universal financial obstacle faced by entrepreneurs along with the challenge of battling racism and racial bias, Mastercard is honoring hip-hop’s 50th anniversary by helping equip Black women entrepreneurs with the financial tools, resources and education to successfully accomplish their dreams.

/by