In America we have big issues with education - in impoverished communities especially. I work with Teach For All, and so we're encouraging more people to get into teaching.
John LegendRead
Some artists I know, they would rather not see the audience or envision them. But for me, I'd rather see them. I feel like part of the reason I perform is to feel that connection. It's the reason I love it so much.
Interpretation
John Legend emphasizes the importance of the audience in his performance, highlighting the connection between artist and audience.
In this quote, John Legend expresses his belief that the audience plays a crucial role in the performance experience. Unlike some artists who prefer to perform in isolation from their viewers, Legend values the connection with the audience as a significant aspect of his artistry. This connection enhances his love for performing, as it allows for an exchange of energy and emotion that makes the experience meaningful.
In practice
During an interview, John Legend discussed why he enjoys live performances.
In America we have big issues with education - in impoverished communities especially. I work with Teach For All, and so we're encouraging more people to get into teaching.
Hip-hop is one of the most free art forms there is. There's so many sounds you can use, so many things you can bring in. You never know, man. I bet years ago people would've never said they would hear me with Rick Ross, and we did four classic songs together.
For me as a songwriter, I love when other people cover my songs.
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.
Why wouldn't I help? What good reason do I have as a human being with power and a sense of empathy and morality, why wouldn't I do something?
I wrote the song "Show Me" as a prayer to God asking simple, honest questions about life and death and why there is so much suffering in the world. As I grew with the song I realized I shouldn't limit these questions solely to God; I should ask those questions of others and of myself.
The work that lasts over time is the work which still speaks to us when all contemporary interest in that work is extinct.
Just because I'm playing jazz I don't forget about me. I play or write me, the way I feel, through jazz, or whatever.
Or art thou but / A dagger of the mind, a false creation, / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I'm very happy to hear that my work inspires writers and painters. It's the most beautiful compliment, the greatest reward. Art should always be an exchange.
For a long time, I bought into the idea that if you are a woman who is a storyteller and a lover of movies, then the best way to express that is as an actress. Obviously, there are women my age who are directors who didn't buy into that idea, but I did - and now I've broken that down inside myself.
I'm almost violent about that stuff - electronic manipulation of pictures. I think it's an abomination. I reject it all. I mean, it's OK for selling corn flakes or automobiles or for taking pimples out of Elizabeth Taylor's face, but it undermines the thing that photography is about, which is about observation and not about manipulation of images.
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