Legend, whos given name is Stanley Parker, was born on May 13th 1976 in Hackensack, NJ. He grew up in the township of Teaneck where he was instantly immersed in a culturally diverse environment that exposed him to music at an early age. In the fourth grade he began taking drum lessons which would spark a life long love for music.
Legend's love for music continued to grow and by his early teenage years he began making his own music. A neighbor loaned him a drum machine, the Casio RZ-1. Legend would use this drum machine along with his Casio keyboard, a boom box, and multiple cassette tapes to make tracks. Eventually he was able to convince his father to help him buy a 4-track recorder to further expand his production techniques.
By the time Legend was 15 he found himself in his first "real studio" session. He would co-produce the song "East Coast Hit," which was a response to the massive take over by West Coast artists in the Hip-Hop game. Around this time Legend also linked up with a fellow musician and formed the group Urban Black Poets which would later also include additional Artists with a name change to Legendary Status.
Currently Legend is the owner of Legendary Studios in Stony Point, NC. He also serves as Minister of Music for Third Creek Missionary Baptist Church. He seeks to fuse his God given talents with positive messages to inspire and bring about change in his community and the world around him.