WASHINGTON (AP) — Singer John Legend is joining the Kennedy Center in Washington to start a program in honor of the late Marvin Gaye encouraging young artists to engage in social issues.

The project announced Tuesday echoes Gaye’s lyrics and asks young people to consider “What’s Going On … Now?” They can upload videos, photos, poems, music or any recordings of creative expression to the project’s website to answer that question.

Gaye’s album was the first from Motown to tackle difficult social issues such as war, drug addiction and poverty. His 1972 performance at the Kennedy Center was a historic comeback for Gaye.

The Kennedy Center has partners in seven cities for the project, including Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Fe, N.M.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.