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
People like Dick Gregory, Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone show me what the definition of an artist is - it isn't just to make art but to speak truth to what's happening, speak beauty into the world, speak love into the world and also... get involved.
Interpretation
What this quote means
An artist's role extends beyond creating art; it involves advocating for truth, beauty, and love within society.
John Legend emphasizes that true artistry lies not only in the creation of aesthetically pleasing works but also in using one's voice and influence to address social issues and foster positive change. Artists like Dick Gregory, Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte, and Nina Simone exemplify this ethos by integrating their art with activism, challenging injustices, and spreading messages of hope and love throughout the world.
Themes
ArtistTruthActivismBeautyLoveInvolvement
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a cultural event, one might say, 'As John Legend pointed out, being an artist is about using your platform to speak truth and promote love.'
More from John Legend
All quotes →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.
John LegendRead
For me as a songwriter, I love when other people cover my songs.
John LegendRead
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.
John LegendRead
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?
John LegendRead
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.
John LegendRead
Similar quotes
It's certainly true that when I was young, writing seemed to me so important that I would have sacrificed almost anything to it ... Because I thought of the world in which I wrote -- the world I created -- as somehow much more enormously alive than the world I was actually living in.
Alice MunroRead
One very important aspect of art is that it makes people aware of what they know and don’t know they know... Once the breakthrough is made, there is a permanent expansion of awareness. But there is always a reaction of rage, of outrage, at the first breakthrough... So the artist, then, expands awareness. And once the breakthrough is made, this becomes part of the general awareness.
William S. BurroughsRead
Acting is mostly about listening. If you just focus in on what the other person is saying, acting takes care of itself to quite a large extent.
Alan RickmanRead
The accidents of my life have given me the ability to make stories in which different parts of the world are brought together, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes in conflict, and sometimes both - usually both. The difficulty in these stories is that if you write about everywhere you can end up writing about nowhere.
Salman RushdieRead
Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does.
Allen GinsbergRead
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilised into time and tune.
Thomas FullerRead