Alicia Keys’ artistic light is so
bright it could illuminate a pitch-black room. A
true musical prodigy whose multi-dimensional gifts
emerged at age five, the beautiful Alicia will soon
take modern R&B soul to a whole new level at the
tender age of nineteen.
Born aware of her old soul yet living in New York’s
inner city amidst the dominance of Biggie and Jay Z,
Alicia’s natural talents blossomed into a rare mix
of hip-hop flavor and insightful, wise-beyond-her-years
songwriting. Coupling this with the singer’s spine-tingling
vocal power, positively stirring live performances
and expertise as a classically trained pianist,
Alicia Keys could be this generation’s Roberta Flack.
Highly sought-after by record labels that held good,
old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor, Alicia
signed to Arista Records in 1998. There, in the
spirit of a genius like D’Angelo or Prince, she
continued the process of writing, producing and
recording the debut she’d begun penning at age 14.
In late 1999, Alicia followed Clive Davis to his new
J Records where she continues to chart her arrival
to the music world. Creations now rising out of the
studio show signs of both a critical and commercial
monster - a deep, melodic, soulful gem of an album
that showcases Alicia in all her universal glory.
Though most of the album- including the luminous "Fallin'"
and the moving "Troubles" - was written and produced
by Alicia Keys, the artist collaborates with
Jermaine Dupri on "Girlfriend" and with Isaac Hayes
on "Rock Wit U" from the Shaft soundtrack. Her debut
album, Songs in A Minor, is set for release on J
Records in late June.
Born and raised in Manhattan, the stunning, bi-racial
Alicia Keys recognizes a number of influences
including her ultra-supportive mother who told her "You
can quit anything else but you can never give up on
your piano lessons." Alicia also sites a teacher at
the Professional Performance Arts School in
Manhattan who, while she was majoring in Choir, gave
her valuable instruction on her voice. "This teacher
spent so much time with me, she became the closest
thing to vocal training I received," Alicia recalls.
At age 16, Alicia’s outstanding grades allowed her
to finish high school early. "I was so deeply
involved in music, I had already outgrown all the
pressure of high school cliques and gossip." Right
out of high school, Columbia University accepted
Alicia Keys and though she gave it a whirl, the
desire to focus on music was the driving force over
all else. |
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