Mosh 2 Music

Review by Dan:

Formerly known as John Stephens, this guy didn’t give himself an easy start by changing his surname to “Legend”. Having successfully contributed to the work of many established artists, it was only a matter of time before Legend released material of his own. Mixing modern streetwise hip hop (“Number One”), tender, sensuous lyrics (“Stay With You”) and some good old Stevie Wonder soul (piano ballad “Ordinary People”), “Get Lifted” is a collection of friendly, observant R n B tracks. Addressing a range of situations from the laddish promiscuity of “She Don’t Have To Know” (featuring Snoop Dogg) to the penitent “I Can Change”, Legend seems to have called in a few favours – the aforementioned “She Don’t Have To Know” benefits from the production skills of the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, and Kanye West features heavily throughout, from delivering a frank, to the point rap on “Number One”, to being executive producer of the whole album. Rewarded with both a Mobo and a Grammy, John Legend has made the first step towards living up to his chosen moniker.