The singer wasn’t even going by John Legend when he played piano on a track from Lauryn Hill’s critically acclaimed 1998 album ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’

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John Legend playing the piano during a visit to SiriusXM in September 2024

John Legend did not make a fortune off his first musical credit.

The 46-year-old musician was still going by his birth name John R. Stephens when he played the piano on Lauryn Hill’s song “Everything is Everything” off her critically acclaimed 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The opportunity came years before he rolled out his debut album — 2004’s Get Lifted.

During a March 18 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he discussed a 20th anniversary edition of Get Lifted and a forthcoming tour, Legend revealed how he landed a feature on Hill’s album and why he was only paid $500 for the deal.

Legend told Jimmy Fallon that he met Hill, 49, while he was still in college at the University of Pennsylvania. A friend from a church choir offered to introduce the singers in the studio where Hill was working on her first and only solo studio album.

“I get on the piano just to show her what I could do. It was like a mini-audition,” Legend recalled, confirming that he was nervous but pulled it off. After she heard him perform, Hill said that he should play the piano on “Everything is Everything.”

He wasn’t sure if he would make the album and was excited but surprised when he got a call asking how he’d like to be credited and what he’d like to be paid.

“I didn’t really know what to ask for, and I asked my friend who had been interning in the music business that summer,” he said, revealing that the friend said he should ask for $500.

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John Legend on the red carpet in October 2024

Fallon, 50, joked that the label must have been thrilled by the deal, which didn’t include a publishing deal or anything else.

He might not have been paid well, but Legend said that it was his “claim to fame at school.”

It was also not the last time that the musicians collaborated. Legend and Hill worked together again on a remix of his song “So High” that was left off his debut album. All these years later, it’s been included on the anniversary edition of Get Lifted.

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Lauryn Hill performing at the O2 Arena in October 2024

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill left a lasting impact on the music industry and was even listed as the 10th best album of all time by Rolling Stone.

Hill reflected on its enduring success in a 2020 interview with the outlet. She also revealed the simple reason that she’s only ever released one album: No one ever asked her to do a sophomore project.

“The wild thing is no one from my label has ever called me and asked how can we help you make another album, EVER … EVER,” she said. “Did I say ever? Ever!”