Get Lifted

Released in late 2004, Get Lifted served as the formal introduction of John Stephens, a former studio session player and songwriter, as John Legend. Executive produced by Kanye West during his most influential 'soul-sampling' era, the album is a masterclass in modernizing the Great American Soul tradition. While Legend's piano-led compositions draw heavily from gospel and 70s soul icons like Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, the production from West, will.i.am, and Dave Tozer injects a hip-hop sensibility that kept the record relevant to the urban contemporary landscape of the mid-2000s. The album was a massive critical and commercial success, winning three Grammys and establishing Legend as the premier soul crooner of his generation. It is particularly noted for its balance of secular themes with spiritual arrangements, a hallmark of the Ohio-born artist's upbringing.