Celebrating Her Artistic Independence, Latest Album, And Collaborations… Alicia Keys Has a New Attitude

What do you do after you have done everything you’ve imagined, achieved everything you set out to achieve and then some?

Singer-songwriter-Author Alicia Keys decided to make the switch, choosing to pursue the balance of her recording career as an independent artist after a long 20-year agreement with Sony Music Entertainment. To celebrate her new-found independence and reap its rewards, Alicia has also recently released a new double-album entitled ‘KEYS’ a 26-track set, which is divided into two sides—Originals and Unlocked, and this album features Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Khalid, Swae Lee, and Lucky Daye. There was much ado and anticipation that the music Alicia recorded in the Caribbean with J. Cole would be included in the set, but alas, it did not work out, but even without the Cole collab, “KEYS,” Alicia’s 8th album still boasts an impressive guest list that shows just how willing she is to take her music to another level.

In the run-up to her new album release in last December, we’ve seen the 15-time Grammy winner getting busy appearing on the cover of (the December 2021 issue of) Marie Claire Magazine. She recently showed off her (and hubby Swiss Beatz) impressive $21.8 million Ocean-side abode (purchased in 2019) in Architectural Digest and Better Homes and Gardens Magazines, and was even captured smoking a blunt on Nore and DJ EFM’s Drink Champs Podcast amidst the promotional media events to set the stage for the album release.

Keys, whose birth name is Alicia Augello Cook was born January 25, 1981, is a classically trained Pianist who has been writing songs since she was 12 years old. She was signed to Columbia records in 1996, at the age of 15, however after experiencing creative differences with the label Alicia left and signed with Clive Davis’ Arista Records in 1998, her first album was not released until 2001.

Alicia’s debut album, ‘Songs in A Minor’ debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number one, selling 236,000 in its first week at retail. On its second week, word of mouth and exposure from television performances was so significant that record stores requested another 450,000 copies. The album went on to sell over 6.2 million copies in the United States and 12 million internationally. It was certified six times Platinum by the RIAA. ‘Songs in A Minor’ established Keys’ popularity both inside and outside of the United States where she became the best-selling new artist and R&B artist of the year.

Key’s went on to record 6 more albums under the Clive Davis umbrella at Sony Music before ultimately deciding leave and go the independent route. Sony has did well with Alicia over the years since she arrived as a 15 year old, and Alicia has basically grew up, matured as a woman, and as a artist having sold 33 million albums worldwide. Billboard ranked Keys as the fifth-most successful artist of the 2000s decade, Keys married Swiss Beatz in 2010 and is now the mother of two sons.

Davis has been quoted giving his impression of Alicia from their beginning, saying “she came across then, from that very first meeting, the way she comes across today, which is really as a young Renaissance woman of enormous musical talent, but really matured way beyond her young years. When I saw her sit down and play the piano and sing, it just took my breath … Everything about her was unique and special from the beginning”

Alicia going independent is not really such a big leap for an artist who has done everything she set out to do. Artistically, she has performed with a virtual who’s who in music across the genres of rap and R&B, she has written songs for some of the biggest stars in the world, she has co-hosted and performed in TV shows, like The Voice, The Cosby Show, etc. Keys has also authored five books, all in the short span of 20 years, much of it before she was 35 years old. 

Keys has won practically every accolade, award, and commendation available. She has also launched a cosmetic brand called Keys Soulcare, had a Branded shoe deal with Reebok, and an IOS Game App. Alicia made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin’ Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy Garcia. 

When there are no new challenges because all have been overcome and all dreams have come true, a creative, but restless mind will create new challenges like moving from the bustling east coast metropolis to the quiet rolling hills and beach fronts of La Jolla, California, and becoming an avid art collector. Alicia and her husband, Swizz Beatz, are co-chairs of the Gordon Parks Foundation, which permanently preserves the work of Gordon Parks, the pioneering photographer, filmmaker, musician, and activist. The couple acquired what is now the largest private holding of Gordon Parks’ images, part of the Dean Collection (Swiss Beatz actual name is Kesseem Dean), the couple’s philanthropic organization, and family collection of international contemporary art. With all of that and then making a move towards independence as a recording artist seem pretty normal, if not necessary. 

Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep A Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine, orphan care, and social support to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

From the beginning of her career, Keys has been noted for being a multifaceted talent as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. She broadened that to become an actress, author, philanthropist, Activist, and entrepreneur and has achieved acclaim for all of those endeavors in addition to being a wife and mother. Alicia’s unique style and maturity as a classical musician and singer have blossomed into Alicia making her mark as the Renaissance woman Clive Davis met as a 15-year-old young girl.

_{In the beginning… It all started with her Premeire Appearace on Oprah in 2001}