Alicia Keys

Singer-Songwriter

• Born: January 25, 1981
• Place of Birth: New York, New York
• Main Occupation or Related Field: Singer-Songwriter

SINGER, MUSICIAN, AND ACTOR

One of the best-selling female rhythm-and-blues artists of her generation, singer-songwriter Keys developed a distinctive style that has earned her worldwide success. She also has received critical acclaim for her roles in Hollywood films.

AREAS OF ACHIEVEMENT: Film: acting; Music: hip-hop; Music: jazz; Music: pop; Music: rhythm and blues; Music: soul

Early Life

Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook in New York City to Craig Cook, an African American, and Teresa Augello, a White woman of Italian and Irish ancestry. Keys’s parents separated when she was two years old, and she grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, a tough neighborhood. Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother, who was keen to keep her out of trouble. She began learning the piano at the age of seven. Serious about her music and eager to have a brighter future, Keys gained a place at the prestigious Professional Performing Arts School, where she majored in choir.

Keys began writing songs at age fourteen. Her musical influences included classical composers, her mother’s jazz records, and rap. She formed a group with three other girls from school but went solo on the advice of Jeff Robinson, who became her manager in 1994.

An outstanding student, Keys graduated from high school at age sixteen. She received a scholarship from Columbia University but dropped out after only four weeks to dedicate herself to a career in music. Her first professional recording was “Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing),” which appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 film Men in Black. Keys was under contract with Columbia Records but was frustrated by creative differences with executives who wanted to mold her into a typical female rhythm-and-blues artist. In 1998, Keys moved to Arista Records, whose president was legendary music mogul Clive Davis.

Life’s Work

When Davis formed his own label, J Records, Keys moved with him. She initially chose “Alicia Wild” as her stage name but changed it to “Alicia Keys” at her manager’s suggestion. Keys recorded two singles: “Rock Wit U,” which was featured on the soundtrack of the film Shaft (2000), and “Rear View Mirror,” which appeared on the Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) soundtrack.

Keys’s debut album, Songs in A Minor, was released in 2001. Praised by critics for its mature blend of soul, jazz, and hip-hop, the album recalled performers such as Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown. The album went on to sell more than twelve million copies and produced two Top 10 singles. The following year, Keys won five Grammy Awards including Best New Artist.

After a tour, Keys released the album The Diary of Alicia Keys in December 2003. This album produced more hits and more Grammys in 2004 and 2005. A live concert recording, Alicia Keys Unplugged, was released in 2005. Another album, As I Am (2007), was based on Keys’s travels around the world following the death of her grandmother and produced another hit single, “No One.” In 2009, Keys’s collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, a tribute to her hometown called “Empire State of Mind,” became a huge hit. The song also was included in her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, released in December of that year. In July 2010, Keys married record producer and rapper Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and gave birth to a son in October.

In 2011 Songs in A Minor was rereleased in honor of its tenth anniversary, and Keys promoted it with a stripped-down tour, featuring only her vocals and piano playing. The following year, Keys released her fifth studio album, Girl on Fire. Its lead single by the same title peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking the first time since 2007 that Keys had cracked the top twenty. It also earned her the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.

Keys, whose mother and grandfather both have acting experience, first appeared on television at age four playing a friend of Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show. In 2006, she made her film debut as a hired killer in Smokin’ Aces. She also had a supporting role in The Nanny Diaries (2007) and the next year appeared with Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah in the film The Secret Life of Bees. She made her directorial debut in 2011 with Project 5, a documentary on breast cancer. After a long break from acting, she appeared in the second season of the television drama Empire as Skye Summers. In addition, Keys has written travel articles for newspapers and in 2004 published Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, which made the New York Times Best Sellers list. She published a children's book, Blue Moon: From the Journals of MaMa Mae and LeeLee, in 2014. In 2022, she cowrote a graphic novel titled Girl on Fire.

In 2014, Keys collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on a song for the soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, "It's On Again." The same year, she appeared as a coach on the singing competition show The Voice, before guest starring on the drama series Empire in 2015. Her sixth studio album, Here, followed in 2016. Featuring the singles "In Common" and "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)," the album peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. She then returned to The Voice as a coach in 2016 and 2018, appearing in the eleventh, twelfth, and fourteenth seasons. In 2019, Keys served as an executive producer on the reality television series Hustle, following entrepreneurs as they try to make their businesses succeed. She hosted the 61st Grammy Awards later that year, becoming the first female host of the show in fourteen years, and returned to host the ceremony again in 2020.

Keys released back-to-back albums in 2020 and 2021, titled Alicia and Keys, respectively. Both albums were successful, with Alicia debuting at number four on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. Her single "A Beautiful Noise," a duet with musician Brandi Carlile, from that album was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Keys found the artist returning to the instrument that launched her career, the piano, and featured guest performances on several songs by rappers Swae Lee, Pusha T, and others. In November 2022, Keys released her first holiday album, Santa Baby, under her independent record label, Alicia Keys Records. Upon its debut, Santa Baby claimed the nineteenth spot on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart the week of November 19, 2022, and peaked at 148 on the Billboard 200 albums chart the week of December 24, 2022.

In 2023, Keys, along with American playwright Kristoffer Diaz, released Hell's Kitchen, a coming-of-age musical inspired by Keys and her own life experiences in her youth. The musical, which premiered its off-Broadway run at the Public Theater's Newman Theater in New York, includes some of Keys's most popular songs from her past discography, as well as original songs she wrote solely for the production. While Hell's Kitchen opened to mixed critical reviews, the musical sold out its first run. In December 2023, the musical's production company AKW Productions announced that Hell's Kitchen would head to Broadway's Shubert Theatre in 2024, with its opening night set for April 20, 2024. Keys released the first recorded single from Hell's Kitchen, "Kaleidoscope," through Alicia Keys Records in March 2024. That same year, Keys made a guest appearance during the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show performance, headlined by American R&B artist Usher.

Significance

Named the top rhythm-and-blues artist of the 2000s by Billboard magazine, Keys also has won numerous Grammy Awards. Her first three albums reached number one on the Billboard 200. An accomplished musician who writes and produces her own songs, she has been hailed as a new Nina Simone or Roberta Flack. Keys has visited several African countries and promoted the work of Keep a Child Alive, a nonprofit organization that supports children and families affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries. She also supports organizations that help young people to realize their ambitions in music and performance and campaigns for criminal justice reform. Keys has also been outspoken about her struggles with mental health and the importance of mindfulness, and she launched a skincare brand in 2020 called Keys Soulcare promoting those values.

Bibliography

Blistein, Jon. "Alicia Keys Talks Criminal Justice Reform on Capitol Hill." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 10 Nov. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

Ford, Ashley C. "How Alicia Keys Is Expanding Her Brand Mindfully." Fast Company, 2 May 2022, www.fastcompany.com/90740201/how-alicia-keys-is-expanding-her-brand-mindfully. Accessed 5 May 2022.

Keys, Alicia. "Alicia Keys on Fragrance, Fearlessness, and the Beauty of Doing Your Own Makeup." Interview by Mackenzie Wagoner. Vogue. Condé Nast, 5 Nov. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

Martin, Rachel, host, and Alicia Keys, guest. "You'll Find Alicia Keys' New Record, 'Santa Baby,' Winking under the Mistletoe." Morning Edition, NPR, 16 Dec. 2022. NPR, www.npr.org/2022/12/16/1143120528/youll-find-alicia-keys-new-record-santa-baby-winking-under-the-mistletoe. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

Nordstrom, Leigh. "Alicia Keys on 'Empire,' Marriage, and Her New Album." WWD. Fairchild, 3 Feb. 2016. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

Pareles, Jon. “A Neo-Soul Star as She Is: Nurturing Her Inner Rebel.” New York Times. New York Times, 9 Sept. 2007. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

Paulson, Michael. "Alicia Keys’s Hell’s Kitchen to Open on Broadway This Spring." The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/theater/alicia-keys-musical-hells-kitchen-broadway.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

Roberts, Russell. Alicia Keys. Broomall: Mason Crest, 2010. Print.