John Legend finds social movements to be a huge source of inspiration.
The nine-time Grammy-winning R&B singer performed his and rapper Common’s Oscar-nominated song Glory while thousands of people marched in Selma, Alabama in honour of late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. over the weekend.
Glory, a song from new movie Selma’s soundtrack, speaks to the power of the 1960s African-American Civil Rights Movement, and John is honoured to have produced such a dynamic tune.
"It's about the movement and it's about the people," John told ET Online’s Nischelle Turner. "It's about knowing what happened before and using that as inspiration."
Rapper Common, who also portrays character James Bevel in Selma, is equally moved about having the opportunity to collaborate with John on Glory.
In Common’s opinion, the song speaks volumes about what it takes to cause societal transformation.
"It's people like Dr. King and leaders who we now get to study to know that these are some of the ways that you change things," Common said.
Glory has scooped up multiple high-profile trophies this awards season. After its official release in December 2014, Glory has so far won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, the Georgia Film Critics Association gong, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award and the African-American Film Critics Association’s Best Music trophy. The song is also up for an Academy Award.
Selma centres on Dr. Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights in the mid 60s. The picture also stars Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo.
