LOS ANGELES — Jay-Z as soon as informed John Legend, “You’re our voice.” However Pharrell Williams had one other concept for Legend’s signature baritone: Typically, let it do extra speaking than singing.
On his new album, “Muse,” Legend dials again his powerhouse vocals on sure songs, adopting a extra conversational supply at Williams’ urging. It’s a departure for the EGOT winner, whose piano-driven ballads like “All of Me” and “Strange Individuals” have helped outline his profession for greater than twenty years.
The 16-track challenge, out Friday, marks Legend’s first full album with Williams after greater than 20 years of friendship. Recorded largely at Williams’ studio inside Louis Vuitton’s Paris headquarters, it grew out of Legend’s look on Clipse’s “The Birds Don’t Sing,” which impressed Williams to construct an album round his voice.
In an interview with The Related Press, Legend mentioned Williams’ inventive affect, Jay-Z’s memorable praise and composing his first unique stage rating for “Imitation of Life,” an off-Broadway musical opening at The Shed in New York in December.
Remarks have been edited for brevity and readability.
LEGEND: I really need each challenge to be my greatest challenge. Each album to be my greatest album. Meaning persevering with to push myself, persevering with to problem myself and never resting on all of the work I’ve executed earlier than.
That additionally means attempting new issues. Working with Pharrell on a whole album was one thing new for me. I’m writing for Broadway now. Simply discovering new inventive avenues to proceed to throw some extra challenges into the combination and seeing what it conjures up in my creativity.
LEGEND: No, under no circumstances. Truthfully, I really feel like my success has made me really feel empowered. It’s made me really feel assured and trusting my voice, trusting my instincts. It’s allowed me to have relationships with file labels and different enterprise companions the place they belief my judgment and don’t over-micromanage me. … I feel it permits me to function from not being in a spot of concern, however a spot of confidence and willingness to strive new issues.
LEGEND: One of many issues that he inspired me to do on particular songs was to talk-sing in a approach the place it was like I used to be extra talking and having a dialog.
Like in “Fireflies,” a number of the supply of the verses of the tune is extra like I’m orating, like I’m talking, relatively than like I’m singing a melody. That was his concept, and I feel it actually works. … That’s why you’re employed with new individuals, as a result of they could deliver new concepts to the desk that you just hadn’t tried earlier than.
LEGEND: Early in my profession, I used to be signed to GOOD Music. Kanye was very concerned in govt producing all my albums, and so it wouldn’t have made sense for me to do a complete album with a complete different producer on the time. I’m extra of a free agent now and in a position to simply do no matter I need musically. My label, Republic Data, type of lets me have free rein with no matter I wish to do musically and wherever my muse takes me — no pun meant.
LEGEND: I feel lots of people realize it they usually acknowledge it to me. Jay-Z one time got here as much as me and stated, “You’re our voice.” I feel quite a lot of hip-hop followers know that these MCs deliver me onto a tune once they suppose that I’ll add one thing particular to it. … I like that hip-hop is such an enormous a part of my legacy and my physique of labor through the years.
LEGEND: What we discovered fascinating was the problem of writing it as Black creatives and centering the Black lady Delilah on the coronary heart of our storytelling in a approach the place she was by no means centered earlier than. Making it a musical when it by no means was a musical earlier than was additionally an fascinating problem. It allowed us to put in writing an period that’s actually fascinating in our musical historical past and our cultural historical past, the time of the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age.
LEGEND: I don’t know if something scares me. I might say I don’t wish to get complacent. I wish to proceed to carry myself to a excessive customary, maintain something I launch to a excessive customary, and I refuse to simply relaxation on my laurels.
I assume you possibly can name it concern, however I don’t suppose it’s actually concern. It’s motivation and problem that I put in entrance of myself.
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