Have always been wary of so called 'protege' acts. More often than not it is a veiled attempt by artists to give hometown pals a leg up in the industry. D-12 and G-Unit alone prove my theory.

John Legend (apart from a boastful change in surname) is thankfully the exception. His success is based on the fact that he dares to go where other male artists before him (D'Angelo and Maxwell) feared to tread. He mixes his Neo Soul foundations with commercial credibility via his association with man of the moment Kanye West.

Like his mentor, Legend talks about the real issues within urban culture (Careers, Family, Love) not the superficial things like lowriders and the quality of narcotics. 'Used To Love U' has John telling his ex-lover that he can't afford to splash out for the ice and the finer things in life: "Maybe I should rob somebody/So we could live like Whitney and Bobby".

For all the guest appearances Legend has made on other's records (Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z) the return of favour is surprisingly small. Apart from having a hand in a lot of the production, Kanye guests on 'Number One', the poppiest song on Get Lifted. The only other main guest is Snoop Dogg on 'I Can Change' which sees Snoop do nothing more than tick off John Legend's name on his list of artists to work with. Not many to go now Snoop!

In a touching moment towards the end of the set, Legend harks back to his gospel choir days with the Sam Cooke infused 'It Don't Have To Change'. What makes it all the more special is John recruits his family as the backing singers. Indulgent? Possibly. Nepotism? Certainly. Brilliant? No doubt.

Ending with a 70s Marvin Gaye style number in 'Live It Up' (complete with a Dramatics sample), Legend seems to cover all his bases with his first studio album. In years to come there is no doubting his ability to produce an absolute masterpiece.