John Legend shares artwork and tracklist for new album ‘Bigger Love’

John Legend has shared the artwork and tracklist for his upcoming new album ‘Bigger Love’.

The follow-up to 2016’s ‘Darkness And Light’ is executive produced by Raphael Saadiq, who oversaw Solange‘s critically acclaimed ‘A Seat At The Table’ and released his latest album, ‘Jimmy Lee’, last year.

The official tracklist contains 16 tracks in total and features guest appearances from Gary Clark Jr., Jhené Aiko, Koffee, Rapsody and Camper.

Sharing the news on Twitter, Legend wrote: “I’m so excited to introduce my new album #BiggerLove to the world. Here’s the album cover painted by brilliant artist Charly Palmer. Check out the track list, including my amazing featured guests.”

In a lengthier post on Instagram, Legend confirmed that all the songs on ‘Bigger Love’ were recorded prior to the coronavirus crisis and the ongoing anti-racism protests.

“All of these songs were created prior to the world being rocked by a pandemic, prior to the latest police killings in the U.S. that sent so many to the streets in protest,” he explained. “During these painful times, some of us may wonder if it’s ok to laugh or dance or be romantic. Lately, the images of black people in the media have been showing us with knees on our necks, in mourning, or expressing our collective outrage. We feel all those emotions.”

He continued: “But It’s important for us to continue to show the world the fullness of what it is to be black and human. Through our art, we are able to do that. This album is a celebration of love, joy, sensuality, hope, and resilience, the things that make our culture so beautiful and influential.”

Meanwhile, John Legend is among those who have signed an open letter calling for police budgets to be cut following the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, 46, died in Minneapolis last month (May 25) following an altercation with police officers. Floyd, who was African American, was killed when a white police officer knelt on his neck as he lay on the ground during an arrest.

The open letter was launched by Patrisse Cullors, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter and a founding member of the Movement 4 Black Lives (M4BL) and calls for local officials to cut police spending and budgets and instead increase spending on health care, education and community programmes.