Ernie Hines vs. John Legend & The Roots | Head 2 Head

In the 21st edition of Head 2 Head (2025), Ernie Hines and John Legend & The Roots contend for the best rendition of “Our Generation.”

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 2 Head, we pit at least two musicians performing the same song and compare their performances.  After deliberation, we decide which performance is the best or moves us more subjectively. In the 21^st edition of Head 2 Head (2025), Ernie Hines and John Legend & The Roots contend for the best rendition of “Our Generation”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Ernie Hines, “Our Generation”

“Straighten it out / Straighten it out / Straighten it out.” What do we need to straighten out, Ernie Hines (1938 – )? The world! In “Our Generation”, the ninth track from the Mississippi soul musician’s 1972 album, Electrified, Hines asserts, “Hope in our world is in our generation,” adding “It’s all left up to us to change this present situation,” and “Take a lesson from our elders, don’t make the same mistake.” Deep, socially conscious stuff.  Leon Moore composed “Our Generation” while Tom Nixon, Lester Snell, and Jo Bridges produced it.

“Our Generation” cooks from the beginning. There is a marvelous, soulful groove. The production is terrific, as is the music arrangement.  The instrumentation includes the rhythm section as well as those mean horns. Instrumentally, the riffs are thrilling, particularly the guitar and those articulated, biting horns.  Also, bringing ample soul to the table is Ernie Hines.  His vocals are potent to the nth degree, bringing the tuneful melodies and those socially conscious, thoughtful lyrics to life. “Our leaders make us fight, we don’t know what for / (Let’s straighten it out) / If they want people killed, let them fight the war,” he sings, continuing, “It’s gotta end somewhere, this killing’s gotta cease / If no one went to fight, we could all live in peace.” Hines does the heavy lifting but also gets assistance from background vocals, consistently encouraging our generation, “Let’s straighten it out.” The outro is particularly a treat. Hines brings it with the lead, naming various places (“In the USA… / In Vietnam /… All over the world… / Washington D.C. /… In Detroit city…”). Meanwhile, the background vocals sing the core lyrics (“Our generation… / Let’s straighten it out”). Ultimately, “Our Generation” is a fantastic but painfully underrated soul classic. Hines’ message, as well as his vocal performance, were on-point, PERIOD!

2. John Legend & The Roots, “Our Generation (The Hope of the World)” (Ft. CL Smooth) 

“Hope of the world is in our generation / It’s all left up to us, to change this present situation.” Preach, John Legend, preach! The soulful baritone continues, “Take caution from our elders, don’t make the same mistake / Let’s fill the world with love, and get rid of all the hate.” Amen! The socially conscious message that he shares on “Our Generation (The Hope of the World)” is ‘the bomb dot com.’ Legend and The Roots, plus rapper CL Smooth did not originally write or perform “Our Generation.” Ernie Hines (1938 – ) is the original performer, while Leon Moore wrote the song. Hines’ version appeared on his 1972 album, Electrified.  An underrated, underappreciated soul cut, John Legend and The Roots introduced, reintroduced, and revived this gem. Although it is a cover, they bring the heat while fittingly, CL Smooth gets a writing credit for his rap verse.

John Legend and The Roots do a bang-up job preserving the soulfulness of Hines’ original.  The rhythm section is locked-in – on fire! The horns are dynamic, filled with a mean bite.  The instrumentalists all dig in, preserving the old but making “Our Generation” sound relevant in 2010.  It appears as the fourth track on the Legend / The Roots Grammy-winning collaborative album, Wake Up!. The star of the show is Legend, who wows with his legendary, earthy, gritty vocals. He sings with incredible authenticity, selling the need to clean things up, badly! Like the original, Legend gets an epic assist from the background vocals who urge us, “Let’s straighten it out.” The best section of the song is the outro, where John takes us to church, backed by those sickening background vocalists. “New York City, better straighten it out / Atlanta, better straighten it out / In Los Angeles, you better straighten it out…” Woo! Backtracking, we must highlight Smooths meaningful, wise verse:

“Need to straighten it out, seek and you’ll find

They can cage your body, but not your mind

We lay it all on the line in the struggle

We grew, but together here’s what we gotta do.”

John Legend, The Roots, and CL Smooth deserve a huge round of applause for reviving “Our Generation (The Hope of the World)”.  It is a killer soul record that remained relevant in 2010 and continues to be relevant well into the 2020s.

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️ 

So, who performed the socially conscious masterpiece, “Our Generation,” the best? Was it the underrated, underappreciated soulful original by Ernie Hines or the marvelous revivalist cover by John Legend & The Roots featuring CL Smooth? First and foremost, Hines deserved far more recognition for “Our Generation.” He superbly conveyed the message written so eloquently by Leon Moore. His voice oozed with conviction and ample soulfulness. That said, my first rodeo with this classic was “Our Generation (The Hope of the World)” by Legend, The Roots, and, CL Smooth.  The entire Wake Up! album is a throwback to the soul of old, and the musicians exceed expectations, particularly as Legend delivers some of the most gospelized, grittiest vocals of his career. And that CL Smooth verse – it fits perfectly, making “Our Generation” fit a new generation tasked with “straightening it out.” The winner of this head-to-head battle, hence, is John Legend & The Roots featuring CL Smooth.