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John Legend And The Roots On World Cafe : World Cafe The neo-soul singer recently teamed up with the legendary hip-hop band to record an album of '60s and '70s soul covers called Wake Up! Hear the two perform their renditions of soul classics live from the Philadelphia studios of WXPN.

Studio Sessions

John Legend And The Roots On World Cafe

FromXPN

John Legend And The Roots On World Cafe

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John Legend and The Roots perform on World Cafe. Doug Seymour hide caption

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Doug Seymour

John Legend and The Roots perform on World Cafe.

Doug Seymour

Set List

  • "Compared To What"
  • "Hard Times"
  • "Wake Up Everybody"
  • "I Can't Write Left-Handed"

When award-winning R&B singer John Legend joined forces with award-winning hip-hop band The Roots, the collaboration produced a covers album called Wake Up!. The album shadows the '60s and '70s, featuring songs recorded by Baby Huey, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Nina Simone and other soul artists.

Wake Up! moves in sequence, addressing these "Hard Times" and encouraging listeners to make a change. Nostalgically coursing through R&B, funk and even hints of reggae, the album isn't just imitating the past. It's more educational, striving to show the strength of America's musical history.

Hear an interview with Legend and listen to the group's studio session from World Cafe.

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