Legend, then an aspiring singer, songwriter and keyboardist attending the University of Pennsylvania in the Roots' hometown of Philadelphia, had been drawn to the buzzed-about series of public jam sessions the hip-hop group had been putting on at the Five Spot nightclub on Bank Street.

Legend received acceptances from both Harvard and Georgetown for undergrad, but ultimately chose to attend the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. He received an honorary doctorate degree in music from his alma mater in 2014, in addition to an honorary degree from Duke University in 2021.

John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and actor.

John Legend's real name John Roger Stephens, later known as John Legend, was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. Legend got his name from the poet J. Ivy, who described his sound as "old-school, like one of the legends." The name stuck because Legend chose it for his stage name years later.