Identified with Nabil Ayers13 Elo 2025

John Legend on Ancestry, Identity, and Raising a Family with Chrissy Teigen

In this standout episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with EGOT-winning artist, activist, and cultural icon John Legend to talk about family, race, ancestry, and the stories that shape who we are.

John opens up about growing up in a tightly knit Black church community in Ohio, being surrounded by music, and taking piano lessons from age four—learning gospel by ear from his grandmother and classical from a local teacher. But behind the harmony was hardship. He shares how the early loss of his grandmother led to his mother’s decade-long absence and how that trauma shaped his sense of home, responsibility, and resilience.

The conversation traces his family lineage, including revelations from his appearance on Finding Your Roots—stories of enslaved ancestors, a great-grandmother who could have passed for white, and a landmark court case in Ohio that secured his family’s freedom generations ago. It’s a deeply personal look at the complexities of Black American identity.

John also talks about raising four children with his wife, Chrissy Teigen, and what it means to parent a multicultural, multiracial family in the spotlight. From Thai temples to Black church traditions, he reflects on how he and Chrissy are teaching their children to embrace their mixed heritage and proudly identify as Black, Asian, and Blasian.

This is an episode about legacy—musical, cultural, and personal—and what it means to know where you come from, even when some stories were almost lost.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Reissue: Hermanos Gutiérrez on Their Musical Beginnings, and the Meaning of Family

Hermanos Gutiérrez never planned to be a band. On this episode of Identified, Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez sit down with host Nabil Ayers to trace where their music, and their bond, actually comes ...

17 Elo 18min

Reissue: Comedian Reggie Watts on the Meaning of Family and Belonging

A brand new and exclusive reissue from the Identified archive, with one of our most fascinating guests, Reggie Watts. Reggie Watts joins Nabil Ayers on Identified to trace where he actually comes fro...

10 Elo 18min

Award Winning Director Nabil Elderkin on The Family We Choose

Photographer and filmmaker, Nabil Elderkin, joins Nabil Ayers on Identified for a conversation about his Iranian-American identity, childhood in Australia and the United States, family history, the Ba...

3 Elo 25min

Adam Buxton on Why No Parent Has It Figured Out

In this episode of Identified with Nabil Ayers, Adam Buxton explores family, identity, childhood, boarding school, fatherhood, parenting, class, and friendship. The comedian, writer, broadcaster, and...

27 Heinä 35min

Daymé Arocena on Leaving Cuba to Follow Her Dreams

Raised in a house with fourteen family members, Daymé Arocena reflects on how music, ancestry, and community shaped the woman she became. n this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with Cuban...

20 Heinä 28min

Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw on Growing Up in a Family of Artists

In this episode of Identified with Nabil Ayers, Florence Shaw of Dry Cleaning explores family, creativity, artistic legacy, collaboration, and identity. Growing up in South London surrounded by genera...

13 Heinä 25min

Turnstile’s Brendan Yates on Why the Band is Like a Family

In this episode of Identified with Nabil Ayers, Brendan Yates of Turnstile explores family, community, identity, creativity, and the relationships that shaped both his life and his music. From growing...

6 Heinä 24min

Meshell Ndegeocello on Family, Music, and Mentorship.

From an Army household in Washington, D.C. to New York’s creative community, Meshell Ndegeocello reflects on the people who shaped her life, and the love that expanded her world. In this episode of Id...

29 Kesä 20min