Take him out to the ballpark
Growing up in Cleveland, John Legend was more of a football and basketball enthusiast than a baseball fan.
“The Reds actually had a couple of good years during my youth, and the Indians have had a few good years here and there, but obviously they’re not as perennially good as the Red Sox or the Yankees,” says the R&B singer-songwriter on the phone from New York.
But the five-time Grammy winner is nonetheless excited to play Fenway Park tonight
as part of the annual Hot Stove, Cool Music benefit concert. It’s a return to the old ‘hood for the Kanye West protegee and in-demand collaborator. When he was still John Stephens, he spent 1999 and 2000 in the Hub before moving on to multiplatinum success with his two albums of buttery smooth soul, 2004’s “Get Lifted” and last year’s “Once Again.”
Q Have you been to Fenway Park before?
A Yes, I have. I used to live a block from Fenway Park when I was a management consultant when I graduated from school [Penn]. I lived right there on Comm. Ave. in Kenmore Square, so I’m very familiar with the area and I’ve been to a couple of Red Sox games. It’s a very cool area.
Q Are you a baseball fan?
A I’m not a baseball fan, to tell you the truth. I’ve been to a couple of Yankees games.
Q You won’t be saying that tonight from the stage, right?
A I know (laughs). I just said I’ve been, I didn’t say I was a fan. I don’t have any allegiances.
Q You played London as part of the massive Live Earth concerts last month. How was that experience for you?
A There was a lot of great energy there, and there was a lot of great artists. I’m glad I did it. I think it was an important moment, and I was glad to be a part of it.
Q Did it have any personal effect on you? Did you think, “I’m going to go home and change my light bulbs”?
A I just try to do the little things. For instance, a lot of time the label will order an SUV to pick me up, and sometimes it’s just me and my luggage, and I don’t need all that. And so I made an explicit point to tell them don’t get me an SUV if I don’t need one. I don’t fly private jets, unless I absolutely have to. It’s things like that if everyone does them, it adds up. But I want to really look into next time I tour to get in more fuel-efficient buses. But I have to say that the government still has to do some things as well, and it’s not just about personal virtue as [Vice President] Dick Cheney said. The government has responsibility in this matter, and we have to encourage our politicians to be leaders on this issue as well and not be as beholden to special-interest groups on that issue, among others.
Q Are you at work on a new album yet?
A I’m starting to write for that now. Everything I’ve written so far is different from everything on the last two albums, so I’m excited.
Q With the awards, sales, and critical acclaim, do you think you’ve lived up to your chosen surname yet?
A I’m still working on it. I still think it’s about building a long career; it’s about doing it repeatedly, not just one or two times. We’ve had two really successful albums, and I’m really proud of the impact we’ve had so far, but I feel like I have a long way to go. So I think time will tell.
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