Philly’s finest hip hop legends are teaming up with one of the greats of modern soul to release an album of covers.
“[We’re] 90% done,” Roots drummer ?uestlove told Rolling Stone. “People tend to frown on the cover album," the Roots' drummer says, "so I wanted to choose cover songs that were so under the radar, so uniquely interpreted, that it would take you a second to realize that these are cover songs.”The project kicked off when the artists united to record an Arcade Fire track, but instead morphed into an album of 60s and 70s protest songs called ‘Wake Up’.
In the end the Arcade Fire track didn’t even make the cut.
The band have recorded tracks like ‘Compared To What?’ by Roberta Flack, ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free’ by Nina Simone, ‘Little Ghetto Boy’ by Donny Hathaway and ‘Wake Up Everybody’ (with Common) by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes.
The album will supposedly see John Legend singing dirtier than ever, thanks to the influence of ?uestlove, so if you’re into the smooth and over produced R&B of John Legend, be prepared to get a taste of how it really was back in the day.
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