To understand where John Legend is today, one must take a peek into his past. An Ohio native, Legend was a child prodigy. He skipped two grades, started high school at 12 and graduated magna cum laude from the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, he decided to focus on a career in music. By happenstance, his college roommate was related to Kanye West. The two met in 2001, before College Dropout was released, and Legend eventually signed to Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint.
Like his other albums, West will play a major role on Love in the Future. He co-wrote, co-produced and helped to pick some of the producers and songs. In turn, Legend made a contribution to West’s latest effort, Yeezus. Legend penned the song “Bound 2.”
Yeezus has received praise and heavy backlash.
“Kanye is good at pushing the culture, pushing the conversation and making people think and challenging his audience,” Legend says. “He does that with this new album as well. The music is interpreted differently by a lot of people. Part of what makes him exciting as an artist is that he makes thought-provoking music. It’s something that’s provocative and I think it’s a good thing.”
