In the lead up to the Midterm elections, John Legend and The Roots are dropping an album of covers called "Wake Up Everybody!" with the explicit intention of encouraging civic awareness amongst young people.
People interviewed John Legend and reported:
"It says it all in the title," John Legend says. "It's saying 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."
"If you can kind of transport your mind to what everyone was feeling at that time, there was a lot of energy in the country, a lot of feelings that we could all do something to make the country better and the world better," says Legend. "So we went back to music from the 60s and 70s where again, there was this feeling that young people were empowered and could do a lot in the world."
John Legend and The Roots have a record of social consciousness and are ushering in the next wave of youth awareness with this release, due out September 21.
You can take it to the next level. If you haven't yet, take our Pledge to Vote and you can get a call from Questlove of The Roots (or other artists, like Bob Weir or Yim Yames) reminding you to vote before this year's midterm election.
Listen here to the album's title track:John Legend & The Roots - "Wake Up Everybody" f. Common & Melanie Fiona