John Legend Presents Vaughn Anthony

Last week at SOB’s soulster John Legend held a showcase introducing Vaughn Anthony, his kid brother and new artist on his Homeschool Records label, to an anticipating crowd, music moguls and the limelight.  While new as a solo artist, Vaughn Anthony is not a newbie to the spotlight.  He has been touring with John and singing back-up, as well as having some time in the forefront with John on his world tour.  It can’t get any better than touring with your well known older brother and having him accompany you on back-up.

His roots are steeped in the church and he has been honing his skills with his big brother as a mentor by his side.  At this moment, Vaughn has an EP entitled My Everything that is available on iTunes.  He is also working with Teddy Riley and other notable producers, on his debut album and is finally ready for his turn in the spotlight.

Thursday night was the night that Vaughn stepped from behind the scenes and into the media’s attention.

With a quick intro from from his brother, the festivities were on their way.  Vaughn’s opening song My Everything had everyone warmed up and offered a taste of exactly what he had to offer.  He literally jumped right into it and that alone had the flash from the photographers blinding everyone from their feeding frenzy.  As his energy heightened, the flash bulbs caught Vaughn in all of his flashing lights glory.  The heavy rock influence on Feeling Right was quite intense.  It was clear everyone was trying to make their way and come to their own conclusion about the artist on stage.  Vaughn’s vocals are strong.  He sings with a lot of fervor and passion, type unapologetic and steamed – but it works for him.

From Calling to Future, one after the other he was belting songs out.  The only problem was, there was not really that much interaction with the crowd.  He just kept the show moving.  And when he did sing, he just gazed at the back of the venue.  Seeing that it was a small venue, a little more personality would have been consumed with enthusiasm.  With the reggae influenced She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not being his only real interaction with the crowd (joking about staying by Flatbush, hence the reggae track), he really put his all into it.  Dude sang his face off, while keeping the bob and skank pace of it all.  In Your Shoes seems to be the song that everyone is talking about.  Is it because it sounds a lot like something John would sing?  Perhaps.  Or could it be because John and Vaughn’s vocal ability are quite evenly matched?  Again, perhaps.  Either way, it is a great song but no one was really vibin’ to it.  With that said, it was hard to say whether his set actually made a mark with the audience.  He did sing his face off and took us to church, but the disconnection with the audience was unfortunately felt moreover.

After Vaughn’s set, John took the stage and basically continued a mini concert of his own.  He pulled his celebrity friends out of his musical hat and let the show continue.  First up was Estelle gracing the mic and hitting everyone up with a duet with John singing “Come Over.”  New school Lovers Rock at its best.  That was clearly the highlight of the night.  As soon as Mr. Legend started raving about how Magnificent he felt, it was an obvious introduction for Rick Ross to join him on stage.  Right after Rick, producer extraordinaire Ryan Leslie grabbed the mic for a fly and mature version of Diamond Girl.  So fly, if you didn’t know the song, it could have passed as a new track!  And to set it off with a bang, John gave the Green Light and let it rip for the last song of the night.

There is no way that either brother can be mistaken for the other.  Alright, perhaps vocally.  In spite of that, each brother has their own sound.  Where John is strictly soulful or jazzy, Vaughn is soul with an injection of something…rock maybe?  I sense a little Lenny Kravitz influence looming in the background, just bubbling to get out.  Anyhow, it’s like comparing cotton candy and toffee.  They are brothers, but like John said “we both have our own sound…”  You sure do.

Tags: Come Over, Diamond Girl, Estelle, Green Light, home school records, Homeschool Records, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Magnificent, Mr. Everything, Rick Ross, ryan leslie, siblings, sobs, Vaughn Anthony

Category: Music