John Legend Reflects On Signing With G.O.O.D. Music — 'My Career Wouldn’t Be Where It Is Without That'

John Legend has been a force in the music industry for decades. In an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” he reflected on where it all started when he signed with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint during the early 2000s.

“It was really important for me to be with G.O.O.D. Music for my first few albums,” Legend shared. “My career wouldn’t be where it is without that. And then, when it’s time to move on, it’s time to move on. But we had a really successful run together.”

Although Legend is no longer a part of the Chicago native’s label, he notes that he does not regret his decision to sign and even noted his team’s hesitation prior.

“There were people in my camp that didn’t want me to sign with Kanye when I signed with him,” the “Ordinary People” crooner recalled. “Cause I was signed with G.O.O.D Music and I signed through G.O.O.D. Music to Columbia Records. So, all of my first few albums were through G.O.O.D. Music to Columbia Records.”

He explained how the process when signing with a label led by another artist is different from other deals that he could’ve signed at the time.

“You give up certain things when you sign to an artist’s production company. But, I felt like it was the right move for me because creatively, we were in a great place together and his star was ascending as a producer and as an artist,” said Legend. I felt like being a part of that team was gonna propel my career to a place that it needed to be. And it did!”

In 2021, Billboard reported that the EGOT recipient left his deal with Columbia to sign with Republic Records.