John Stephens (born December 28, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio), better known a… Read Full Bio ↴John Stephens (born December 28, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio), better known as John Legend, is a Grammy award winning R&B singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and actor signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label. Prior to the release of his debut album Get Lifted in 2004, Legend's career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists such as Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. He released his second album, Once Again in 2006, and his latest release, 2008's Evolver showcased a more experimental and upbeat side of Legend. He is the recipient of six Grammy Awards, and in 2007 he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. You can get Cheap John Legend Tickets for his next performances.

Legend also played the piano on Lauryn Hill's 1998 song "Everything is Everything" and sang background vocals on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name". Legend frequently cites gospel, R&B, and hip hop music as his main musical influences.

Legend released his critically acclaimed and Billboard Top Ten second album, Once Again, in October 2006. Produced by Raphael Saadiq, Kanye West and will.i.am, it is again a mixture of gospel and classic soul showcasing his extraordinary voice, particularly on "Show Me".

Grammy Award Wins:
*2005 Best New Artist
*2005 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Ordinary People"
*2005 Best R&B Album- Get Lifted
*2007 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Heaven
*2007 Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: Family Affair

Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor of contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. Born John Stephens, Legend was a child prodigy who grew up in Ohio, where he began singing gospel and playing piano at the tender age of five. Legend left Ohio at 16 to attend college in Philadelphia, and it was there that he first found a larger audience. Not yet out of his teens, Legend was tapped to play piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything" in 1998. After completing college, he moved to New York, where he began to build a loyal following playing in nightclubs and releasing CDs that he would sell at shows. He also became an in-demand session musician, playing and occasionally writing for a wide array of artists, including Alicia Keys, Twista, Janet Jackson, and Kanye West. It wasn't until West signed the young talent to his new label that he adopted the Legend name with 2004's Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory. Get Lifted, his first studio album, was released later in the year. On the strength of enduring single "Ordinary People," the album reached the Top Five of the Billboard 200. This led to three Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Once Again, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, followed in October 2006. Live from Philadelphia, sold exclusively at Target stores, was a successful stopgap release that predated October 2008's Evolver.

Do U Wanna Ride
John Legend Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

"This is the operator with a collect call from, Emery Jones
To accept the charges press one, now"

Emery what up
Told you I ain't too good with writing letters and all
Shit I don't even write rhymes
But what I will do
I'm going to sing you this open scribe through the airwaves

Vibe with me

I know
I know
Some places we can go (yeah nigga I been places you got dreams of being here)
Some places we can go
I know (I said we cause I'm here, you here)
I know (yeah)
Some places we can go
Some places we can go
Do you wanna ride? (Yeah, ride with me)
With me (your spot is reserved family)
Do you wanna ride? (Cigarette boats, yachts)
With me (ain't no where we can't go)
(We in south beach and the Hampton's too baby)

You know why they call a project a project, because its a project
An experiment, we're in it, only as objects
And the object for us to explore our prospects
Side-step cops on the way to the top (yes)
As kids we would day dream sitting on our steps
Pointing at cars like yea that's our sex
Hustler's prophets made our eyes stretch
So on some Dr. Spock shit we started our Trek
Some of us made it most of us digressed
In the name of those who ain't laid in my progress
Show success please live through me
See I'm the eyes for Emery
Keep him alive
(This is a collect call from)
So every time I press five all he wanna hear is his boy talk fly
Up in the fast but still holding his head
So when he hits the streets we goin' eat through this bread
Now let's ride

I know
I know
Some places we can go (I'm crushing 'em all award shows)
Some places we can go
I know (MTV, BET, Grammys)
I know (crush linen, purple label)
Some places we can go, (all that fly shit we talked about)
Some places we can go (given em Sinatra pinky rings with blue diamonds and everything)
Do you wanna ride?
With me (that's what we talking bout right)
Do you wanna ride?
With me (I tried to told you)

Ride with me
International Hov I told you so
Forty forties out in Tokyo
Singapore, all this from singing songs
Coming up though, we thought slinging raw
Was the end all, be all to being rich didn't we
Little did I know my more potent delivery
Would deliver me
Kingpin of the ink pen
Monster of the double entendre
Coke is still my sponsor
A-cola
Yeah
Hova still getting it in with soda
Diet, no sir I ain't lose no way
Started from the crates now sitting on the whole case
Since they got you sitting on that old case
Our dreams is on hold like T-VO
So I can't wait til you get your date
I got some tint plates outside of the gate
We goin' ride

I know
I know
Some places we can go
Some places we can go
I know (don't even worry about it though you ain't missing nothing)
I know (it only gets better)
Some places we can go (they got the Maybach coupe now)
Some places we can go (look like the bat mobile)
Do you wanna ride? (Phantom top just comes off that joint)
With me (it only gets better)
Do you wanna ride? (they can lock your body, they can't trap your mind)
(Keep your spirit alive read your books)
With me (matter of fact let me take you some where, ride with me)

C'mon

Now me and my little Moma, Kita and Tata
Juan and Dez out in Saint Tropez
Jay, round in Cabana
Sneaking marijuana
You know that Mary J give you no more drama
Lost a couple friends this whole shit got weird
But when you get home you know your spots reserved
You hear
I put my niggas on
My niggas put they niggas on
Now we all somewhere foreign
Chilling sipping something
I ain't forget you cousin

(Yeah nigga y'all can wear sneakers on the beach if you want to)
Some places we can go (y'all niggas coming c'mon playing money marathon)
Some places we can go (my youngin' is Lebron)
I know (you know what that makes me baby?)
I know (big homie)
Some places we can go (Emery what's up, yeah)
Some paces we can go
Do you wanna ride (you wanna ride with us your more than welcome)
With me (we ain't on no bullshit)
Oh
Do you wanna ride (we're so sucker free tho)
Oh (Big tie I see you too boy)
With me (Guru I don't usually do this but, roll me up something man)
(Let me get mellow on this shit right here)
(Yeah)
(Yeah)
(White paper tho can't even fuck with those blunts)
(White paper baby)
(Old school nigga)
(Gimme a joint)
(Smooth it out young H-O)

(Emery Jones)
Word to my mama, we livin'

Overall Meaning

The opening lyrics to John Legend's "Do U Wanna Ride" feature a collect call operator informing the receiver that there is a collect call from Emery Jones, and to press one to accept the charges. The song then transitions to John Legend singing about the places he and Emery can go together, and asking if he wants to ride. Legend talks about the experiences he and Emery may have, including awards shows and luxury locations around the world. As they ride, Legend reminisces about his past and the dreams he and Emery once had. He expresses his desire to see Emery again and to travel and experience success together.

The song is a beautiful ode to friendship and chasing one's dreams. The message is clear: with the right people by your side, you can go anywhere and achieve anything. The opening lyrics feature a collect call operator, which sets the tone for the rest of the song. The use of a collect call implies that Emery is incarcerated, which makes the lyrics even more poignant. Despite Emery's current situation, John Legend remains committed to their friendship and their dreams.

Line by Line Meaning

This is the operator with a collect call from, Emery Jones To accept the charges press one, now
Emery Jones is calling collect. Please accept the charges by pressing one.

Emery what up
Hey Emery, what's up?

Told you I ain't too good with writing letters and all
I'm not good at writing letters, Emery.

Shit I don't even write rhymes
I don't even write rhymes, Emery.

But what I will do I'm going to sing you this open scribe through the airwaves Vibe with me
But I will sing you this message through the airwaves. Join me in the vibe.

I know Some places we can go (yeah nigga I been places you got dreams of being here) Some places we can go I know (I said we cause I'm here, you here) I know (yeah) Some places we can go Do you wanna ride? (Yeah, ride with me) With me (your spot is reserved family) Do you wanna ride? (Cigarette boats, yachts) With me (ain't no where we can't go) (We in south beach and the Hampton's too baby)
I have been to places you dream of being. We can go to some of those places together. Your spot is reserved. We can ride on boats and yachts, to the beach and the Hamptons.

You know why they call a project a project, because its a project An experiment, we're in it, only as objects And the object for us to explore our prospects Side-step cops on the way to the top (yes) As kids we would day dream sitting on our steps Pointing at cars like yea that's our sex Hustler's prophets made our eyes stretch So on some Dr. Spock shit we started our Trek Some of us made it most of us digressed In the name of those who ain't laid in my progress Show success please live through me See I'm the eyes for Emery Keep him alive (This is a collect call from) So every time I press five all he wanna hear is his boy talk fly Up in the fast but still holding his head So when he hits the streets we goin' eat through this bread Now let's ride
Projects are experimental environments, and we are just objects in them. Our goal is to explore our prospects and dodge the cops on our way to the top. As kids, we daydreamed about success and hustlers inspired us. We started our journey like Dr. Spock and some of us made it while others didn't. I want Emery to live through my success. Every time I talk to him, he wants to hear about our accomplishments. He's still holding his head high even though things are moving fast. Let's ride.

I know (don't even worry about it though you ain't missing nothing) I know (it only gets better) Some places we can go (they got the Maybach coupe now) Some places we can go (look like the bat mobile) Do you wanna ride? With me (that's what we talking bout right) With me (I tried to told you) Ride with me
Don't worry, you're not missing anything. It only gets better from here. We can go check out the Maybach coupe that looks like the bat mobile. Do you want to ride with me? That's what we've been talking about. Ride with me.

International Hov I told you so Forty forties out in Tokyo Singapore, all this from singing songs Coming up though, we thought slinging raw Was the end all, be all to being rich didn't we Little did I know my more potent delivery Would deliver me Kingpin of the ink pen Monster of the double entendre Coke is still my sponsor A-cola Yeah Hova still getting it in with soda Diet, no sir I ain't lose no way Started from the crates now sitting on the whole case Since they got you sitting on that old case Our dreams is on hold like T-VO So I can't wait til you get your date I got some tint plates outside of the gate We goin' ride
I'm an international superstar. I'm sipping forty forties in Tokyo and exploring other countries thanks to my music. We used to think that selling drugs was the only way to get rich. But then I realized my talent as a rapper was more valuable. I'm the king of the rap game, known for my clever wordplay. Coke is still my drink sponsor. I haven't lost my edge. I started from the bottom and now I'm on top. Our dreams are on hold, but I can't wait for you to be free. We're going to ride.

I know (they got the Maybach coupe now) I know (look like the bat mobile) Some places we can go (y'all niggas coming c'mon playing money marathon) Some places we can go (my youngin' is Lebron) I know (you know what that makes me baby?) I know (big homie) Some places we can go (Emery what's up, yeah) Some paces we can go Do you wanna ride (you wanna ride with us your more than welcome) With me (we ain't on no bullshit) Oh Do you wanna ride (we're so sucker free tho) Oh (Big tie I see you too boy) With me (Guru I don't usually do this but, roll me up something man) (Let me get mellow on this shit right here) (Yeah) (White paper tho can't even fuck with those blunts) (White paper baby) (Old school nigga) (Gimme a joint) (Smooth it out young H-O) (Emery Jones) Word to my mama, we livin'
We can go explore new places like the Maybach coupe that looks like the Batmobile. You're welcome to come and join us. My young friend is like LeBron, and that makes me big homie. Emery, what's up? Do you want to ride? We're not on any BS. We're free from all that drama. Big Tie, I see you too. Guru, can you roll me a joint? Let's chill out and smoke some old school white papers. Smooth it out, Hova. Shoutout to Emery Jones. We're living the life.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ommas Keith-Graham, Kanye Omari West, Shawn C. Carter, John Roger Stephens

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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