Last October, panty-droppin'-music aficionados across the country were dealt a devastating disappointment: John Legend was postponing his highly anticipated tour to finish Love in the Future, his first album since 2010's Wake Up!
We're crazy about Legend, his eyebrow-singeing vocal pipes, and the mega-smoove urban R&B he has helped maintain a presence in commercial music. And we experienced the letdown first-hand.
But no matter how much we were looking forward to the concert and how existentially tormented and deeply depressed we were following its cancellation, we still knew there were big forces at play.
For starters, was John Legend OK?
What accounted for the record's holdup? Did the man who penned "Ordinary People" hit a block?
It's a possibility. Especially in lieu of the title of the album's first single, a collaborative gangsta-love song called "Who Do We Think We Are?" At some point in our lives, we all struggle with our sense of self.
But that's why you gotta keep the Bawse on speed dial. You know Legend just had to give Ricky Rozay a ring-a-ding, and the Teflon Don proceeded to give the R&B crooner the pep talk of his life: "Look up in the sky, bet you recognize a boss/Look into my eyes as I fantasize for us."
How do we know John Legend got his groove back? Before the song is even over, he's stumbling around with some shawty whisper-singing, "We've got a lot of nerve, girl/We walk around here like we own this place."
Nice to have you back, Mr. Legend! Now make dem panties hit the floor!
John Legend. 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Tickets cost $45 to $105. Visit hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com.
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