John Legend & The Roots – Our Generation

Legend & The Roots re-craft a lost classic by the great, yet somehow underappreciated, soul singer Ernie Hines. Mississippi-born, Hines grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he got his start singing in the church. Soul music eventually caught his interest and the singer/guitarist ended up playing with the likes of Lowell Fulsom and Clyde McPhatter. In 1970 he signed to the legendary Stax label, where he recorded “Our Generation.” Like much of that era’s music, Hines’ song doesn’t give in to the tumult and conflict of the times, refusing to be consumed by it and offering a call to young people to make the world a better place. It’s raw and soulful and honest.

Legend and The Roots’s modern interpretation of “Our Generation” retains the all of the authenticity of the original track: It gets funky from the outset, with big fat brass and an ice cold keyboard vamp, inspirational backing singers and a particularly gritty vocal by Legend who reiterates Hines’s 40-year-old message about making the future better by “getting rid of all the hate”.

Latest in the series of Levi’s Pioneer Sessions campaign. You can download the song here.

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