By: Poelano Malema
John Legend is one of the biggest artists globally.
The star’s music roots can be traced back to the church.
He says he grew up in a musical family where both his mother and grandmother had an influence on him.
The ‘Ordinary People’ hitmaker says his grandmother was the church organist and his mom a choir conductor.
The RnB legend took part in ‘The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This is Our Song’ documentary by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
He sang classic gospel hits such as; ‘Lay My Burden Down’ by Larry Sparks, Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’, and ‘We Shall Overcome’ and ‘Up Above My Head’ by Kirk Franklin.
“All those songs were songs that I grew up singing in church. I grew up singing in the Pentecostal church in Springfield, Oho,” the singer said in an Instagram video post.
“My grandmother was our church organist, my mother was a choir director. For me Gospel music is really the core of the Black American music experience,” he said.
Listen to the songs below.
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