It's been five years since John Legend released his third studio album Evolver onto the world. Since then, he's worked in movies, created a joint album with The Roots, won a collection of awards, and toured all around the world. Two days from now, we'll be exactly one month away from the release of his fourth studio album Love in the Future (set for a Sept. 3 release).
In prepareation and anticipation of his return, Chevrolet pegged him for a partnership with the newly redesigned 2014 Impala, and this summer, the American car company released a commercial staring Legend and his single "Made to Love." We were able to sit down with him at the set of the commercial for a few minutes to discuss the link and his new album. See what he had to say and peep the commercial at the bottom.
Interview by Tony Markovich (@T_Marko)
How did you get involved with Chevy?
They reached out to my people and were interested in doing something with me, something that would have a musical vibe to it and something about tying the classic to the modern. That's a lot of the theme of my album is and who I am as an artist. It felt like they're doing an interpretation of the Impala as a classic car, which fit well with who I am as an artist.
What do you think of the car?
I think it's great. This is my first time getting to drive it. I've seen all the beautiful photos, but it's nice just being in the car and feeling it. It's really an elegant car.
What do you like about it?
It's a really smooth ride. I think the design is very lovely. Like I said, it's really elegant and just feels like a classy car.
What kind of cars do you drive normally?
I own a couple cars in L.A. I don't usually have them in New York, because I'm not here enough to justify having a car here, so I usually just use car services. But in L.A., this type of car is actually the type of car that I drive, like a sedan that's kind of luxurious with a smooth ride. I'm not really into sports cars so much, at least not now. Maybe when I hit my mid-life crisis. But for now, I like an elegant sedan. This works very well for my taste.
Chevy is making a push to reinvent themselves a bit right now.
I think you're seeing this across a lot of the American brands, where there's a bit of a renaissance of what it means to be an American car. I grew up in the midwest, so a lot of my family worked in the auto industry, and we've seen the ups and downs of the American auto industry and felt every layoff. We felt everything, because it was in our communities. Our people were the ones working at these places, so when you saw the decline of the auto industry over the past couple decades, I think people wanted to see the American companies breathe new life into these brands. I think what Chevy is doing with their its brands is really smart and really great. For me personally, knowing what it's like to be part of a family that's in the American auto industry, it's great to see Chevy doing that.
Are you familiar with the older Impalas?
Yeah, we had them in our neighborhood. I didn't have one, my family didn't have one, but some of my friends defintiely had them. You see how people have bought the cars and tricked them out and done their own things with them. There's definitely a culture around flipping the Impalas in the midwest and the west coast. This brand is iconic. They were telling me that even Martin Luther King Jr. owned this brand back in the day, and so it's kind of cool that they're giving it a new life.
What do you think makes Chevy and the Impala so iconic?
I think it's part of a culture of taking this classic brand and flipping it in your own way. I think that's what hip-hop has always done. In the communities where people kind of pimped-out their impalas, it took on a life of its own. The makers of the car probably never even imagined that that's what was going to happen to the car when it got into certain communities, but that's what happened. It kind of shows the creativity of the culture.
What do you think are the classic elements of this car and the modern elements?
It's a classic brand and it's an iconic brand. When you look at the car, it feels very "today." It feels like it belongs in this moment. I think the design is very elegent, and I think it's right for right now. It also doesn't feel like it's trying too hard. It just feels like it just is. It's elegant in it's own way.
You mentioned your upcoming work also had classic and modern elements. What should we expect from this album?
I've been listening to it a lot today. Just finishing the mixes and making sure the order was right and, man, I'm excited. I feel like we've got something really special. We've got something that's really romantic and beautiful and it just reflects exactly where I am in my life right now, and I'm really proud of it.
What's the message you're trying to convey with it?
There are a lot of songs about love. It's about optimism, hope for the future, knowing that there will be ups and downs, but going into it with an eyes-wide-open, not-afraid mindset. That kind of reflects where I am.
Where are you exactly in your life?
I'm about to get married. I'm taking the plunge [laughs]. The album kind of reflects that sensibility.
How did it sound in the car?
It sounded great, actually [laughs]. It sounded good. I played with the audio all the time. I like it flat. Some people add in extra bass, but I want to hear it exactly flat with no extra bass, no extra treble, no extra anything, just right in the middle, because it feels like that's the way me mixed it, that's the way we want it. So, I put all the bass in the middle, I put the treble in the middle, put the balance in the middle, faders in the middle, and then rocked it out.
The Impala has always been the epitome of a family car. Now that you're stepping into this stage of your life, how do you think that this car would fit in?
It depends on how many kids we have. Three and we'd be all good. After that [laughs], it's minivan status [laughs].
And then you can get the Corvette later for your mid-life crisis.
Exactly.
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