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Channel24's Leandra Engelbrecht talked to John Legend about his upcoming South African tour and whether Chrissy and Luna will be joining him.
Cape Town – Grammy award-winning artist John Legend will cap off his Darkness and Light Tour in South Africa.
The three city tour kicks off in Johannesburg on 4 November and ends in the Mother City on 11 November.
Legend is one of the very few artists who includes our country in his world tours.
In a telephone interview John says that it is the people of South Africa who keep him coming back.
"They have been extremely supportive of my career from the beginning. We play to huge audiences when we come and they are so energetic and so into the music – so I keep coming back."
What he looks forward to most about visiting the country is the food and culture.
ON DARKNESS AND LIGHT
His fifth studio album, Darkness and Light is a reflection of where he is in life right now as an artist, a father and a citizen.
"I think that I have grown and this album is very much where I am in life right now. Each of my albums were meaningful and honest for that moment. But as you evolve the music should evolve too," says John.
His artistic and political sides come to the fore in the music videos he has released for Love Me Now, Surefire and Penthouse Floor which have strong social messages.
In fact John actually changed the lyrics of Penthouse Floor before Chance The Rapper got on board.
"I explained to Chance the story we were trying to tell – and he was able to make his verse really add to the song in a great way."
Speaking about the thought process behind the music videos John says that in the time that we are living in music has to have a deeper meaning because of everything that is going on socially and politically in so many places.
"We didn’t want the videos to feel like they were just frivolous and irrelevant – we wanted it to be meaningful and to have a real emotional core to them."
He continues: "I think the entire album and the videos understand that people are faced with conflict and that we have tough times that we go through but that music and love can bring us together."
ON TOUR WITH JOHN LEGEND
When he's on tour John never travels without some books, his laptop and his phone which he uses to facetime with his family when they're not with him.
His pre-show rituals include some voice warm ups and some stretches. He always has some chicken and vegetables and drinks lots of fluids to stay hydrated.
And what can fans expect from the set list?
"We’re going to be doing songs from all of my albums including the new album – so fans who have been with me from the beginning will hear some of their favourites from Get Lifted to Darkness and Light. The band is really great. It is the most talented group of individuals that we have had on a tour and I think people are going to love it," says John.
His favourite song to perform right now is Penthouse Floor which he says is one of the songs that get the crowd grooving.
I couldn't end my conversation with John without finding out if his family will be joining him on tour.
He laughs when I say that Luna has a lot of fans in South Africa.
"I hope they can join. We're trying to figure out the exact timing as Chrissy has to work so hopefully they can come for a few days. I really want Luna to see South Africa – if not this time then hopefully next time."
Tickets available at Big Concerts.
(Photos: Getty Images)
