John Legend and ?uestlove talk to Billboard about new album “Wake Up!”:
“Earlier, Billboard sat down with Legend and Roots and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson to talk about “Wake Up!,” President Barack Obama, Twitter, where they buy music and more.
How did “Wake Up!” come to fruition?
John Legend: I reached out to the Roots in 2008, when I was just finishing my album “Evolver.” I was in the middle of campaigning for Barack Obama and feeling inspired by the atmosphere in the country at the time, so I wanted to do something musically that reflected that moment. The original idea was to do some sort of covers EP, but the more I got into it with the Roots, it felt like something that should be heard and marketed on its own. So I put out “Evolver” and toured for it, and then we came back to “Wake Up!” in 2010 and finished it up.”
