New John Legend and The Roots: Little Ghetto Boy
This remake of soul favorite Donny Hathaway’s original song “Poor Little Ghetto Boy” was transposed up a few keys and what I would call “freaked,” as only ?uestlove could. The infamous drummer has provided a funky beat on the drums, sprinkled with Black Thought’s signature flow in his verse at the beginning of the song and sautéed in the silky smooth lead vocals of John Legend serves as the recipe to this sweet tasting soul. The two artists are doing a tribute series titled Wake Up to those artists who paved the way for them. Their last song “Wake Up Everybody” featuring John Legend, Melanie Fiona, and Common is a cute look back to open this generation’s eyes to the future.The song was originally recorded by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring the late Teddy Pendergrass. The video posted below is a more laid back jazz influenced studio recording to encourage those living in poverty by reassuring them, “everything has got to get better.” The idea of shooting the video in the studio is in direct homage to Hathaway’s original live recording as well.