LEGEND, JOHN / ROOTS - WAKE UP

John Stephens (born December 28, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio), better known as John Legend, is a Grammy award winning R&B singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and actor signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label. Prior to the release of his debut album Get Lifted in 2004, Legend's career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists such as Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. He released his second album, Once Again in 2006, and his latest release, 2008's Evolver showcased a more experimental and upbeat side of Legend. He is the recipient of six Grammy Awards, and in 2007 he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. You can get Cheap John Legend Tickets for his next performances. Legend also played the piano on Lauryn Hill's 1998 song "Everything is Everything" and sang background vocals on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name". Legend frequently cites gospel, R&B, and hip hop music as his main musical influences. Legend released his critically acclaimed and Billboard Top Ten second album, Once Again, in October 2006. Produced by Raphael Saadiq, Kanye West and will.i.am, it is again a mixture of gospel and classic soul showcasing his extraordinary voice, particularly on "Show Me". Grammy Award Wins: *2005 Best New Artist *2005 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Ordinary People" *2005 Best R&B Album- Get Lifted *2007 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Heaven *2007 Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: Family Affair Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor of contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. Born John Stephens, Legend was a child prodigy who grew up in Ohio, where he began singing gospel and playing piano at the tender age of five. Legend left Ohio at 16 to attend college in Philadelphia, and it was there that he first found a larger audience. Not yet out of his teens, Legend was tapped to play piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything" in 1998. After completing college, he moved to New York, where he began to build a loyal following playing in nightclubs and releasing CDs that he would sell at shows. He also became an in-demand session musician, playing and occasionally writing for a wide array of artists, including Alicia Keys, Twista, Janet Jackson, and Kanye West. It wasn't until West signed the young talent to his new label that he adopted the Legend name with 2004's Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory. Get Lifted, his first studio album, was released later in the year. On the strength of enduring single "Ordinary People," the album reached the Top Five of the Billboard 200. This led to three Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Once Again, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, followed in October 2006. Live from Philadelphia, sold exclusively at Target stores, was a successful stopgap release that predated October 2008's Evolver. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

There are 3 groups with the name Roots. 1) Roots were a short-lived band comprising Barney Rachabane (alto), Dennis Mpale (trumpet), Duke Makasi (tenor), Sipho Gumede (bass), Peter Morake (drums) and Jabu Nkosi (organ). Replace Jabu Nkosi with Abdullah Ibrahim, add Basil Coetzee on sax and you have the group that recorded the seminal African Herbs LP under the direction of Abdullah Ibrahim. Roots are often cited as a key strand in the development of an indigenous afro jazz sound that links the Drive, the Pelican Club house band under Dick Khoza, Spirits Rejoice and later Sakhile. The liner notes (repeated below) make reference to the public performance diffculties of the times, something well noted by David Coplan in "In Township Tonight". There was nowhere left to perform this kind of music in the late seventies. From the original liner notes: "Within two months of its formation, the group has already got down to composing and recording this LP. Barney Rachabane on the alto and Dennis Mpale the trumpet master are the backbone of Roots. These two have played with the greats, such as Mackay Davashe and Gordon Mfanda who were both nipped in their buds by an untimely death. Duke Makasi plays the tenor sax, Sipho Gumede is on bass, Peter Morake on the drums and Jabu Nkosi on the organ, The group plays Rock Jazz with a local sound. Their music takes one back to Dorkay House jam session days which are now no more. They play in private homes and intend making more recordings." 2) Roots was a 1990's jazz group with Arthur Blythe, Benny Golson, Buster Williams, Chico Freeman, Don Pullen, Ed Thigpen, Idris Muhammad, Kirk Lightsey, Nathan Davis, Sam Rivers, Santi Debriano and Tommy Campbell. 3) The UK's foremost Christian Electronic Producer, Dj and Remixer. Roots began producing in 2009, heavily influenced by minimal dubstep and uk garage. Through the combination of a passion for creating music and a love for God, Roots became the fresh new expression of christian music in early 2012. His style very much reflects his original influences; dark, underground and melancholic. Despite relatively recent beginnings, Roots has had much appreciation for his work, remixing the likes of LZ7, Trip Lee and Parachute Band as well as supporting Golddigger, Cyba-X, Navig8or (of 29th Chapter) and more in live performance. The direct influences on Roots' sound come from the underground electronic music scene in the UK - post dubstep, uk garage, future garage and house as well as drum & bass, juke, techno and hiphop. His wider influences range from classic motown, reggae, RnB and indie to 80's electro pop, folk, 90's hiphop and the entire scale of electronic music. Roots' music is entirely inspired by his belief and love for Christ, and this is reflected in all of his music. Roots has remixed and produced extensively, and in effort to stay fresh and relevant, is continually looking to work with new artists and combine new styles with his own. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.