To conclude the Face to Face Speaker Forum of the 2024-2025 season, the Wake Forest community welcomed acclaimed musician and EGOT winner John Legend on April 8. Winston-Salem locals, Wake Forest students, Forsyth County high schoolers and college students from across North Carolina gathered in the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (LJVM) to hear Legend speak on everything from judging strategies on “The Voice” to his social activism efforts in combating mass incarceration. 

Legend was interviewed by broadcast and entertainment journalist Segun Oduolowu, who hosted the Boston Globe Today and has interviewed several celebrities on entertainment, news and sports. Oduolowu shared his excitement about his conversation with Legend. 

“All of those awards are for a singular human being who also writes fantastic music, is a father and is one of the judges on ‘The Voice,’” Oduolowu said. “From my point of view, it would be a no-brainer to have a face-to-face one-on-one with this incredible figure.”

Oduolowu began the conversation by asking how Legend found his voice.

“I started singing in the church choir and any opportunity that I would get to sing, I wanted to make the most of it,” Legend said. “With artists that grew up singing in the church, you’ll get told by your pastor and by the folks around you, ‘don’t go singing for the devil. Don’t go singing for the world.’”  

While the singer received some pushback in pursuing a career in the music industry, Legend praised the moral foundation the church gave him. 

“You can lose yourself in this business and you do need to be mindful of that, but I think they gave me a good foundation to remember who I was and where I came from,” Legend said. 

The conversation continued as Oduolowu asked the singer if he always knew he would live up to the stage name of “Legend,” which was initially a nickname given by J. Ivy, an old colleague and friend. Ivy was impressed by Legend’s ability to sing, write and play the piano.

“Eventually, a bunch of our crew started calling me that and it got to the point where it became viable as a possible stage name,” Legend said. 

“I knew that ‘John Legend’ was a bit presumptuous,” Legend admitted. “But I believed in myself. I believed that I’m going to make this career work and I liked the fact that this name was a bit audacious.”

Throughout the conversation, Legend reinforced the importance of believing in oneself, addressing many of the students and young professionals in the room who are just beginning their careers.

“I decided I’m not going to not take this name because I’m afraid that it is not going to work out. I’m going to take it and go out there and make it work,” Legend said. 

Wake Forest sophomore and attendee Davenport Hatcher was inspired and empowered by Legend’s ability to trust himself.

“He is trying to inspire future leaders in an academic sense. I think he is trying to inspire people to believe in themselves as he felt inspired to believe in himself from support from his family,” Hatcher said. “He had a lot of confidence and that is something we should start embracing.” 

Legend also shared that his priority of being an authentic and genuine artist attracts his audience. 

“I think if we continue to write songs that go deep into our humanity and that honesty of our real life experience, that’s what is going to continue to connect with people,” he said.  

Along with touching on the values reflected in Legend’s music, Oduolowu couldn’t help but inquire about the singer’s EGOT credentials — a title given to someone who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. 

Legend specifically noted that the award for “Glory” in the movie, Selma, felt particularly special. The movie focused on the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. 

“It wasn’t just any old song for any old film,” Legend said. “This was a song about a film that commemorated the life of one of the most important activists and leaders that we’ve ever seen in this country. We wanted to do something that really honored his legacy and the struggle that is still ongoing in America.” 

The singer shared that this award inspired him to found Free America, an organization that actively fights against mass incarceration and prioritizes building up impacted communities.

“We started going from state to state working with activists, seeing what their priorities were and what we could change on a state by state level,” Legend said. “It’s made a difference. Incarceration has gone down in the country since me and others started working on this issue.”

Just as Legend’s upbringing in the church is reflected in his work ethic and music, he shares that his social activism and entrepreneurial endeavors reflect his priority of authenticity.  

“I believe that ethos should apply to the way we think about criminal justice and reforming our system in the sense that people deserve a shot at redemption and grace,” Legend said. “We, as a society, can learn to forgive each other and give people the opportunity to change their lives.”

Oduolowu attempted to end the conversation by deeming Legend as an embodiment of Pro Humanitate as an individual who focuses on the greater good in all of his endeavors. However, Legend interrupted to convey a final message on the priority of education. 

“It’s important that our leaders, our school presidents and our universities come together and stand up for academic freedom,” Legend said. “The best way we can do that is together across party lines, across ideological lines to make sure that we protect this critical resource.”