Acclaimed American producer and artiste John Legend was Tuesday, December 17, announced as the headliner of the second edition of Move Afrika tour during which he will stage two concerts at BK Arena in Kigali on February 21, and at the Palms in Lagos, Nigeria, on February 25, 2025.
Created by Global Citizen in partnership with Kendrick Lamar’s entertainment company pgLang and Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the tour is part of an effort to bring more economic opportunities to Africa’s younger generations through live music.
ALSO READ: John Legend to headline Move Afrika 2025 in Kigali, Lagos
This will be John Legend’s first performance in East Africa, and arguably the biggest soul and R&B singer to stage in Rwanda, following Boyz II Men show in October 2013 and Neyo in 2019.
John Legend is famously known for his 2013 breakthrough song, All of Me, which earned him hundreds of accolades, but there is more to the soul and R&B guru who is regarded by many as a living legend.
Wondering who the American singer is? The New Times picks five interesting facts about John Legend according to open source.
Started his career as a wedding Singer
According to a 2016 report by Billboard, John Legend first started his career as a wedding singer in the 1990s when he was just a teenager learning the ropes of the music industry.
In 2020, he went back to his roots when he was hired to perform his song "All of Me” at a wedding reception in Huntington Beach, California at the Hyatt Regency. Old habits die hard.
John Legend is among a few artistes on Lauryn Hill’s Iconic ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ album
John Legend is among a few artistes that got a chance to work on Lauryn Hill’s iconic 1998 album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” With the then young musician played piano on "Everything Is Everything,” one of the most selling tracks on the album. He was only a senior in high school when he dropped in on the session.
Since the Hill collab, Legend has also worked with the likes of Alicia Keys, Kanye West and more.
Dropped debut album in 2004
John Legend released his first album, Get Lifted, on December 28, 2004. The record debuted at the seventh position on the Billboard 200, where it sold over 100,000 copies in its first week.
He is among 19 EGOT Winners
In a small list that currently consists of only 19 people, Legend officially joined the EGOT category in 2018 upon winning an Emmy for producing the 2018 NBC special Jesus Christ Superstar Live Concert.
The Tony Award came by way of a co-producing credit on August Wilson&039;s "Jitney” and the Oscar is from co-writing the original song "Glory” from the 2014 film Selma. As of time of publication, Legend has won 12 Grammy Awards as a musical artist.
Kanye West uplifted John Legend in his music career
John Legend revealed in an interview that his college roommate had a cousin who moved from Chicago that used to create beats.
"He wasn't famous," Legend revealed. "He was just some cousin that made beats as far as I knew. But he was Kanye West before everybody knew who Kanye West was."
The introduction was a fateful one that led to Legend and West working together to get the former signed by major labels. John Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted, on Kanye's label GOOD Music in December 2004.