John Legend doesn’t think he would have landed a record deal if it wasn’t for Kanye West.
The 37-year-old singer is forever "grateful" that the ‘Famous’ rapper took interest in his music and signed him to his record label GOOD Music as he doesn’t think he would have inked a major deal without his mentoring.
Speaking on the Honda Stage at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles on Friday (02.12.16), he said: "I don’t know if I would’ve gotten signed to Columbia and Sony without [Kanye’s] help and his work with me on my music back then. so I’ll always be grateful to him for that."
It comes after the ‘Ordinary People’ hitmaker revealed he was rejected by "every major record label" when he tried to break into the music industry.
"I got turned down by every major record label who I met with – including Sony [Legend’s current record label] – and you know, I had to keep persisting despite the no’s and wait till I got to yes."
However, Legend – who released his debut album ‘Get Lifted’ in 2004 – has admitted he thinks it was "helpful" he became famous when he had matured into an adult because he was already aware of the "real world".
He explained: "I think it was helpful for me to become famous when I was an adult already; I was twenty-six years old. I think it’s harder for people that become famous when they’re a lot younger because you never had to be an adult without being in this very unrealistic world. It is unrealistic if you don’t know what the real world is like and me having lived in the real world for a while was very helpful."
Meanwhile Legend – who is set to release his new single ‘Love Me Now’, which will be the first track unveiled from his upcoming fifth studio album – has teased his forthcoming LP has more of a "live band sound".
He said: "I don’t think it’s a dramatic change.
"That’s what we focused on; trying to write great songs that told my story. It’s a bit more of a live band sound than previous albums, we used a live drummer more than we used to, so on a sonic side that’s one of the biggest differences, it gives it a more soulful feel I think."
John Legend thanks Kanye West for helping him get signed
