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John Legend is not content to be just a musician. The “just” there is a little misleading, considering he’s won 10 Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. He was enshrined in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007, two of his albums have gone platinum and “All of Me” has probably played at every wedding in the past three years.

But still, that’s not enough for Legend.

He wants to lend his talent to matters he believes in, whether that’s penning “Glory” for the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic “Selma” or helping to produce “Southside with You,” a film about the Obamas’ 1989 first date, out this Friday.

Lest you think this is some new hobby for Legend, his philanthropic ambitions stretch back over two decades. In 1994, when Legend (then John Stephens) was just 16, the Dayton Daily News published his Black History Month essay. To say that the teenaged Legend’s piece was prescient would be an understatement roughly akin to saying that Legend is just a musician.

“I plan to use my social skills and my musical talents to be a positive role model for my fellow Afro-Americans,” Legend wrote. “I envision a successful musical career that will allow me to obtain high visibility in the community. This, in turn, will put me in a position of great influence, which I will utilize in order to be an advocate for the advancement of blacks in America.”

Legend said he had forgotten about the essay until recently, when his dad found it and read it to him.

“He’s pretty proud of how I said what I wanted to do and now I’m doing it,” Legend said. “I wanted to become a successful musician and use my influence as a musician to put other good things in the world and improve my community, be a good influence. I didn’t know I would do it as a film and TV producer, but it’s kind of continuous with what I do as an artist in music, which is just trying to put light out there and make the world more interesting and more beautiful.”

He felt a particular connect to “Southside with You” because of his respect for the Obamas, who are having a bit of a moment right now as they prepare to leave the White House.

“You never miss what you have ’til it’s gone, and we sense them being gone,” he said. “And we see at least one example of the direct opposite of their grace and poise. I think it’s kind of a stark difference and it makes us appreciate them more.”

A self-described political nerd, Legend admitted he feels frustrated with the country’s current political climate.

“I’ve lately become of the mind that we need a parliamentary system, like the British or a lot of European countries, where the executive in charge of the government is also of the same party as the majority party in the legislature,” Legend said. “Because you want them to have their incentives aligned to where they want the country to succeed or they won’t succeed. Right now, if you’re a Republican in Congress, you want the country to fail so that your party can take over the presidency. You want Obama to not do well. And that incentive is baked into the system as long as the parties are well-defined and ideologically rigid, which they are now.”

It’s a theory he said he hasn’t shared before, joking that he can’t wait for the Twitter backlash to begin (“Why don’t you just leave America then, John?”). But then, Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, are no strangers to internet trolls.

The couple, like the Obamas, are often referred to as #relationshipgoals for their openly affectionate interactions and tendency to seem genuine. Their love story will also be hitting screens in the future, as Legend’s production company is developing “Ordinary People,” a TV show based on their relationship.

“I think it’s fine that people think that [we’re relationship goals], as long as they don’t think that means we’re perfect,” Legend said. “I think it is good to be with someone that makes you laugh, which my wife does, makes you smile and is honest and smart and witty and someone that makes me better. And I think people want that kind of relationship. I’m very happy, so if your goal is to be happy in a relationship, it’s fine that people think that about us.”

Richard Tanne, writer and director of “Southside with You,” has remarked that from what he knows about the Obamas and after reading Michelle’s thesis at Princeton, he thinks the first lady might be smarter than the president. Legend chuckled at the thought and readily admitted that Teigen surpasses him in several areas.

“She’s funnier than me, she’s more fun than me, she’s more creative than me. She’s brilliant,” he said. “I think you start to merge when you’re in a couple. Your sensibilities start to merge. I think she’s made me a little funnier, actually. Even though I’m still not that funny. I’m a bit nerdier than her, especially when it comes to politics and history, so I think I’ve influenced her in that sense.”

Legend also credited Teigen with changing his music, a trend that’s now carried on by their infant daughter, Luna. Legend has referred to her as “a product of our love story.” As someone who has been creating his entire life, he said the experience felt simultaneously similar to and nothing like writing songs.

“Having a baby is so exciting because on one hand, you get to mold this person,” Legend said. “Not only does she have your genetic material, but she’s going to have your influence and your sensibility in some ways, just from you talking to them and teaching them and being around them. But also, you never know what it’s going to blossom into. You’ll try to control as much as you can, but they’re going to have a mind of their own, they’re going to have influences of their own, so it’s really quite an adventure.

“Actually, when you write songs, it’s an adventure too,” he continued. “That’s why I like to co-write with people, because I don’t want every song to just be a product of my own imagination. It’s cool when it’s two interesting, creative minds coming together to do something different, and having their own little baby and seeing where it goes. I always say with writing a song and creating an album, it’s a discovery, because you may go into it with some ideas of what you want to do, but you actually don’t know what it’s going to be until you start creating. It’s truly a discovery process, and I think it’s probably similar with a kid. You’re learning new things every day about your kid, and as much input as you put in there, the kid is going to be who it’s going to be.”

Politically, Legend said having a daughter hasn’t changed him (“I don’t think you need to have a daughter to believe that all women should have equal rights and equal opportunities”), but it has given him the opportunity to experience his beliefs on a more personal level.

“Now, I get to practice what I preach,” he said. “I feel like you have to practice what you preach in your relationship, too, with your partner. I try to practice what I preach in my relationship with Chrissy and then do the same with Luna.”

And when John Legend says he’s going to do something …

@lchval | laurenchval@redeyechicago.com