Stemming from their work together on How I Got Over, The Roots and John Legend announced almost immediately a collaboration album entitled Wake Up!, scheduled for release on September 21st. Now, courtesy of Okayplayer.com, in quite orderly fashion if we do say so, have the first single from said album, the aptly titled “Wake Up Everybody”.
As the only song from the LP to feature guests, you couldn’t do much better than Common and Melanie Fiona. With the old soul sounds of Legend and Fiona, the song’s vibe is instantly built up as one that is light and jazzy, with a big orchestral edge, and one meant to be socially relevant. In an interview with People, Legend said the track is about how “we can’t depend on the older generation to fix everything for us; we gotta educate ourselves, empower ourselves and use the power that we have to make the world better.”
Enjoy the tracklist below (once again thanks to Okayplayer.com) And yes, those are, in fact, covers by Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway. Wake Up! is scheduled to hit stores September 21st.
Wake Up! Tracklist:
01. Compared to What
02. Hard Times
03. Little Ghetto Boy
04. Wake Up Everybody (feat. Common and Melanie Fiona)
05. Our Generation
06. Love the Way It Should Be
07. Hang On in There
08. I Can’t Write Left Handed
09. Wholy Holy
10. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
11. Shine
