Wake Up! (2010)

Wake Up! is the first collaborative album and fourth studio album by American R&B recording artist John Legend and hip-hop band the Roots, released September 21, 2010, by GOOD Music and Columbia Records. The album was produced by Legend with band members Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser, and features guest appearances by CL Smooth, Malik Yusef, Common, and Melanie Fiona, among others. Inspired by the 2008 United States presidential election, Legend and the Roots primarily covered 1960s and 1970s soul music songs for the album with social themes of awareness, engagement, and consciousness.

The album debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 63,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, Wake Up! received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented its production and the artists' treatment and performance of the material. It would go on to win the 2010 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.

Background

Wake Up! follows the releases of Legend's Evolver (2008) and the Roots's How I Got Over (2010). Legend and the Roots were inspired to record a collaborative album by the 2008 United States presidential election. In an interview for Billboard, Legend explained the reason for the album's conception at the time, stating "I was in the middle of campaigning for Barack Obama and feeling inspired by the atmosphere in the country at the time, so I wanted to do something musically that reflected that moment. The original idea was to do some sort of covers EP, but the more I got into it with the Roots, it felt like something that should be heard and marketed on its own". The album's title was inspired by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire's song of the same name.

Music

Wake Up! features mostly covers of songs from the soul music of the 1960s and 1970s, and incorporates musical elements from gospel, rock, reggae, and hip-hop. Songs covered for the album include "Wholy Holy" by Marvin Gaye, "Little Ghetto Boy" by Donny Hathaway, "Hard Times" by Baby Huey, and "Hang on in There" by Mike James Kirkland. The lone original song for Wake Up! is the Legend-penned album closer "Shine". A different version of "Shine" was included in the album's deluxe edition and is used during the closing credits of the 2010 film Waiting for "Superman". In an interview for The Guardian, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the Roots said that they intended to cover lesser-known soul songs, stating "I wanted to choose cover songs that were so under the radar, so uniquely interpreted, that it would take you a second to realise that these are cover songs [at all]". Questlove has said that the band's instrumentation for the album is looser than on previous albums, with a jamming and "grass-roots feel". Wake Up! contains lyrical themes concerning social awareness, engagement, and consciousness. The Roots' lead MC Black Thought is featured on few tracks, as the band mostly accompanies Legend's singing with live instrumentation. Other rappers featured on the album include Common, CL Smooth, and Malik Yusef.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Wake Up Everybody", a cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes song of the same name, was released on April 29, 2010, and features rapper Common and Canadian R&B singer Melanie Fiona. It reached number 53 and spent 14 weeks on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The second single, "Hard Times", was released on September 7, 2010, and has the Roots's lead MC Black Thought as a featured artist.