John Legend

“There's nothing that can shock me anymore, but at this point, Trump's made it very clear how his temperament is, how his personality is, what his level of intellectual depth is when it comes to policy, and he's made it abundantly clear that he's utterly unqualified to be president - no matter what your political views are.”

“Sometimes there's that perfect moment when the crowd, the music, the energy of the room come together in a way that brings me to tears.”

“I always felt that rap didn't cause crime; it just reflected it.”

“Instead of investing our resources in locking people up, let's invest more of those resources in our fellow citizens so they don't end up in the system to begin with. And if they do, they can get back on their feet.”

“Well, I was always a bit of a political junkie. Even as a kid I would read biographies of presidents and of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.”

“I don't think it's an artist's responsibility to be political all the time. I think your first responsibility as an artist is to make music that people will listen to and enjoy. However, I think that when you are able to say something that is moving and put it in a great song, then that is even better.”

“Artists in general never stay in the same place; we keep growing. It's still you: you still have that core that you always had, but you work with new people and hear new things.”

“My first album, 'Get Lifted,' was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic choices, in the way that I sing and write songs. I have always had that as part of my background and part of my influence when I am making music.”

“In the 1970s, for all the Stevie Wonders, I'm sure there were five artists that were making forgettable music.”

“In my neighborhood in Springfield, Ohio, there were a lot of young kids. We all played tackle football after school, but I knew very early on that I was not an athlete.”

“Hip-hop is one of the most free art forms there is. There's so many sounds you can use, so many things you can bring in. You never know, man. I bet years ago people would've never said they would hear me with Rick Ross, and we did four classic songs together.”

“As a young black boy, it made me proud to see black leaders that did something amazing and made the world change.”

“I ate some pretty funky, authentic Chinese food in Hong Kong. There was an egg from some bird that's not a chicken. I can't remember what it was, but it was green and brown and not very tasty.”

“Music is so crucial to every film, I think.”

“We weren't allowed to have secular music in the house growing up. I was home-schooled, and gospel was the only choice we had.”

“I've fundraised for Hillary, and I'll be voting for her. I don't think we should be electing Donald Trump as president, and I'm supportive of Hillary's campaign.”

“The Obamas have been a great example for the country, and I think people are getting a bit nostalgic for that now when they see what some of the alternatives might be.”

“Some artists I know, they would rather not see the audience or envision them. But for me, I'd rather see them. I feel like part of the reason I perform is to feel that connection. It's the reason I love it so much.”

“As a nation - and as a world - we need more truth.”

“I don't feel like that many musicians are competitive with each other.”