A lot on the horizon...

February 4, 2004

I have a good feeling about this year. Things are already off to a great start.

I've been traveling the world with Kanye, promoting his new album The
College Dropout. It's been really exciting to see the momentum grow
for this project. We've played at clubs all over and we've been
feeling a lot of love from y'all. It's a beautiful thing.

Highlights of our tour so far have been in DC, London and Houston. We
played at both VIP & Platinum in DC over MLK Weekend. The crowds there
were ridiculous. We played to packed houses at both venues and the
people knew every single word to the hits (and they even knew the
words to some of the joints from the bootleg). We love y'all in DC.

And we performed for our first time in London a couple weeks ago. We
were special guests of Roc-a-Fella CEO and London scenester Mr. Damon
Dash. Dame showed us around town to all the hottest clubs (and to his
beautiful new house), and we exposed the Brits to our music. It was a
lot of fun. I wanna go back soon.

And we just got back from Super Bowl Weekend in Houston. We played a
few of the pre-Super Bowl parties; then, to cap it off, we played the
afterparty for the world champion New England Patriots. Much props to
them, and thanks to Willie McGinest (and to the lovely Patriot
cheerleaders) for hosting us. We played between Aerosmith and Snoop
Dogg. Not a bad lineup, eh? I guess that's how it goes when you win
the biggest game of the year.

But you can't talk about the Super Bowl without talking about Ms.
Jackson. I'm not going to focus on her breast like the rest of y'all.
I'm about the music. Since everyone's paying attention to her, it
should bode well for her next single "Have Your Way With Me" which is
gonna drop next week. We're just wrapping up the production now. It's
produced by Kanye West and co-written by Kanye, Harold Lilly and yours
truly. I played some piano on there too. It's a sweet, soulful song. I
think it'll be a smash. Look out for that soon.

That's all for now. I'll talk to y'all soon.'

The College Dropout

December 12, 2003


Hey people. Haven't written in a while. I've been in the studio with
Kanye West finishing up his debut album, The College Dropout. I know
some of you might have stumbled across some bootlegs of the album,
but, trust me, that is not the final version. We've got some pleasant
surprises still in store. Expect the real album in stores on February
3, 2004. And expect to hear your boy J.Legend all over the album.

MTV & XXL are calling it one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums of
2004. I'm predicting it will be one of the best hip-hop albums of
2004. (I know I'm biased, but just wait and check it out).

SOB's Show

November 15, 2003


Just wanted to thank everybody who came through to my show @ SOB's in
New York. It was a beautiful night. The energy in the place was
incredible. This was my first full band show in New York in almost a
year, and y'all reminded me why I love doing this. Very inspiring.

See you next time...

Black Album Update

November 6, 2003


So everybody's talking about the Black Album leak. I'm out in L.A.
right now shooting a video with two of Chicago's favorite sons Kanye &
Twista ("Slow Jamz"). Anyway, we turned on the radio and all the
hip-hop stations are playing Jay-Z's whole album. Yeah, they have
every track. Bootleggers always find a way. If you've been fortunate
(or sneaky) enough to stumble on the album, you might recognize my
vocals and piano on the hot Kanye-produced joint, "Encore". If you're
an upstanding citizen and you like to do it the legal way, you can
wait and cop the album on the new advanced release date, November 14.
Man, it's an honor to be a part of that album. History in the making.

Must B 21 - will.i.am Compilation

October 7, 2003


Hey. will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas just released a new producer
compilation on the UK label BBE Records. I've got two songs on there:
"Swing By My Way" and "Ride, Ride". Will produced both tracks (he
produced some tracks that'll be on my album too). It's some fun stuff.
Check out BBE's site for more info on how to order it.

Shows in NY

October 2, 2003


Yo people. Just checking in to thank everybody for all the love you've
been sending my way and to let you know the latest and greatest. I'm
glad everybody's feeling the new site and the new music. Thanks for
all the positive comments. Y'all know how to make a brotha feel good.

Anyway, the last few nights have been hot. Tuesday, I did another solo
show at the Cutting Room in NYC. We had a packed house once again.
Thanks for coming out to support. Thanks to Kanye West, J. Ivy and
Tarrey Torae for coming through to bless the stage. And thanks to
hip-hop heavy hitters Talib Kweli and DJ Enuff for coming to check the
show out. We had a great time.

And for those of y'all who were at SOB's last night, you know it was
crazy. Kanye did his first major headlining show in New York. I was
one of his featured guests. It was hot. First of all, it was sold out,
with people lined up around the block. Lots of special guests came
through. Common ripped a crazy freestyle. Talib Kweli did a couple of
his classic collaborations with Kanye ("Get By" and "Good to You").
Twista rocked a verse on "Champions". The hip-hop violinist, Miri
Ben-Ari, killed it on Kanye's new joint, the "Workout Plan."
Consequence and GLC, my new label-mates on KonMan, did a few verses.
And yours truly was there on the keys and vocals all night.

And, though I'm listing all these guests, I can't neglect to say that
Kanye personally did his thing. His performance was hot. I think some
of his new songs are going to blow people away. Look out for his debut
album The College Dropout on Roc-a-Fella/DefJam in February 2004. I'll
be singing and playing piano all over that album. And if you can't
wait that long, cop some of his mixtapes. I've been featured on all of
those too (Get Well Soon, I'm Good, Akademiks Jeanius Level Mixtapes
Vol. 1 & 2).

Oh, and Monday night, Kanye and I were working with Common on a new
song. Kanye's gonna produce a bunch of Common's next album. I'm
predicting a hip-hop classic. Look out for that...

Jay-Z's Black Album

September 9, 2003


We were in the studio with Young Hov last night. Kanye produced
several tracks for the Black Album, which is supposed to be the last
Jay-Z album ever. Look out for it in a couple months. The tracks are
crazy. Plus you'll hear me singing and playing piano.