*John Legend, born John Roger Stephens, reflects on the origins of his stage name and early career in the premiere episode of Amazon Studios’ “Word+Music,” which debuted Nov. 30 on MGM+.
As PEOPLE reports, Legend’s transformation began in the early 2000s while collaborating with then-unknown Kanye West on the rapper’s 2004 debut album, “The College Dropout.” During sessions with Chicago spoken-word artist J. Ivy, Legend’s musical abilities impressed the artist. “Now J. heard me singing, playing and doing all I was doing on those College Dropout tracks, and he was impressed,” Legend recalls. “He said, ‘Man, we’re gonna have to call you the legend.’”
Embracing the nickname felt natural for Legend, who described himself as an “old soul” with a “throwback voice, this throwback style.” He explains, “It’s going to make people pay attention, and then I just got to go live up to it.”
The R&B crooner added, “So I had to decide whether or not I was going to assume this stage name,” he says. “Now part of me is saying, ‘How you going to call yourself Legend? You don’t even have a record deal yet.'”
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Legally, however, there was a hurdle: a rockabilly musician and porn producer named Johnny Legend already held a trademark. Legend negotiated a mutually exclusive agreement ensuring both could use their respective names without conflict.
“We had to find Johnny Legend, negotiate with him, cut a mutually exclusive deal stating that he was Johnny Legend, and I was John Legend,” he continues. “He wouldn’t sue me. I wouldn’t sue him. He wouldn’t try to get into the soul music business pretending to be John Legend. And I’m happy to make clear that I kept my side of the agreement. I didn’t produce any porn, didn’t make any rockabilly music pretending to be Johnny Legend.”
“Word+Music,” a spin-off of the Audible series of the same name, allows artists to combine performance with storytelling. CEO Van Toffler said, “Throughout the new Words + Music series, we’ve enabled musicians to bring their songs and stories to life in real time through compelling visuals, high-res art, and tech-enhanced volume stages.”
The upcoming episodes include Sheryl Crow on Dec. 7, Elvis Costello on Dec. 14, and Alanis Morissette on Dec. 21, offering viewers a mix of music, storytelling, and personal insight into some of the world’s most celebrated artists.
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