"When we see people that are impoverished and people who are dealt an unfair hand, then if we have the power to help them, we should try to do that."
"My first big break came with Lauryn Hill on a track called Everything is Everything, I played piano on that track way back in 1998."
"I was always the front man for what I was doing from when I was 6."
"I want to move people."
"I think writers are prone to hyperbole sometimes."
"Experience is a great teacher."
"In the 1970s, for all the Stevie Wonders, I'm sure there were five artists that were making forgettable music."
"I played classical as a kid."
"The best training is to play by ear: trial by fire."
"John legend is a nickname that somebody started calling me a while ago and part of it is 'cos I sound like an old man when I sing."
"Now that I'm coming out with my own record people can see I'm a solo artist."
"I always saw myself as a singer-songwriter, a solo-artist, that's why working with other artists was never satisfying for me."
"I'm trying to be me and embrace all the parts of me that have grown up, listened to more music and soaked up more influences."
"I think I'm happier, not just because of winning Grammys and selling records, but because it's really fulfilling to have all these things happen with something you love to do."
"To have the chance to see your music be elevated and to have almost universally positive response to that music, makes me feel better every day. I feel more confident and inspired, and that's fun."
"Marvin Gaye was one of the coolest. I look to him as a style icon and as an artist."
"I used to work for a management consulting company, so I dressed differently - business casual, probably a lot of things from Banana Republic. My wardrobe now is definitely more expensive, but I always dress for the occasion."
"At work, you want to stand out but not in extra-funky ways. At the core, it's about dressing for girls - who are most of my fans - and you want to dress up for them. You just want to feel like you're on top of your game."
"I like cool jackets - a nice fall or winter coat. You can get a lot of use out of it, and you'll wear it frequently, so it can really set the tone of your uniform for the season."
"We should care about what is going on in the world."
"My first album, 'Get Lifted,' was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic choices, in the way that I sing and write songs. I have always had that as part of my background and part of my influence when I am making music."
"Anybody under the age of forty knows hip-hop, gospel and R&B pretty well, and it's all a part of what we consider to be 'black music.' There is a natural synergy between the three."
"I was a busy kid in high school - a little bit of an overachiever, I guess. Prom king was kind of silly, but the rest of the stuff was important to me."
"I'm honestly not a great gift giver. I could give better - my girlfriends have always complained about that."
"Some people start with the lyrics first because they know what they want to talk about and they just write a whole bunch of lyrical ideas, but for me the music tells me what to talk about."
