Alicia Keys Biography
R&B and hip-hop artist, Alicia Keys, was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. Alicia Keys' musical talent began to show when she was just five years old. Alicia Keys took piano lessons at an early age. Alicia Keys developed her vocal range singing in choir and began song writing in her early teens.
She studied classical music from Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin (which was her favorite) and delved into such jazz greats as Marian McPartland, Oscar Peterson and Fats Waller. By the age of 14 she wrote her first song "Butterflyz" which is featured on her debut album "Songs in A Minor." Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Donny Hathaway, were all her inspirations as were Biggie, Tupac, Jay-Z and Wu Tang. She took all of those different genres of music and rolled them all into one, to create a style all her own.
She attended the Professional Performing Arts High School and rehearsed with vocal coach Conrad Robinson at the Harlem Police Athletic League Community center until at age 16. During this time, Alicia graduated as her high school valedictorian and was accepted to attend Columbia University. Conrad introduced Keys to his brother Jeff, Alicia's 'batman", who began searching for the right label.
Right before starting college, Alicia signed her first deal with Columbia Records, and had to make the difficult decision to leave college in order to pursue her musical dreams. However, Alicia later left Columbia Records due to creative differences. Keys felt they were intruding upon her artistic freedom, and she wanted out.
Alicia Keys was approached by record labels and signed with Clive Davis' and Artista Records in 1998. When Clive left the company and started J. Records, Alicia Keys followed. Next came the fierce marketing campaign. Davis says "Fallin' fell between the charts at radio - but it was her signature song. So we had to get around radio." Her big break came when Oprah Winfrey agreed to have Keys on the show. After a dynamic performance of Fallin' with 40 million people watching, the number of albums being shipped for the week of release doubled.
The June 26, 2001 release of 'Songs in A minor' debuted at number 1 on the charts and after 29 weeks, and continued to remain in the top 20, going over 7 million times platinum worldwide. Her first single "Fallin" ended the year at No. 2 on the Billboards Hot 100 chart, spending weeks at the number 1 spot.
Together with Robinson, President of MBK Entertainment, producer Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, A&R executive Peter Edge and Davis, Chairman and CEO of BMG North America, Keys and her mentors solidified a formidable friendship and powerhouse musical team that encouraged and nurtured her musical vision and identity. "My team offers me different perspectives, but always recognizes the artist in me," she says. "They encourage me to be who I am creatively."
With countless achievements all around the world Alicia is still as humble and real as they come. Her follow-up album to "Songs In A Minor", "The Diary Of Alicia Keys", was released in December 2003. This album, like the last, shows vocal maturity beyond her years, and incorporates measures of soul, hip-hop, pop, early '80s Casio sounds and nods to the Blaxploitation era. Of course through it all are the keys - sometimes indulgent, other times sparing, but at every stage indicative of her amazing musical gift.
Committed to excellence, Keys vows that her upcoming album, like her previous masterpieces, will be a culmination of her world travels and personal experiences. "There's no formula to my music, it's just rooted in my heart and soul. Whether I talk about visiting the pyramids in Egypt, o witnessing the AIDS epidemic in Africa or matters of the heart everyone will be able to experience where I've been and where I am going in my life."
Throughout her career, Keys has earned numerous accolades. In addition to nine Grammy Awards, she's nabbed eleven Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, three World Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, two MTV Europe Awards, three NAACP Awards, two Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards, one BET Award, six Soul Train Music Awards, one Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, one People's Choice Award, and one My VH1 Award. Complementing her musical achievements, Keys is also a New York Times best-selling author. In 2005, Penguin Group USA published Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems & Lyrics an introspective tome of original poetry and lyrics from Keys' first two albums. In 2004, The New York Daily News appointed Keys as a travel correspondent. Each month she chronicled the sites and experiences of her summer world tour, which included a performance at The Great Wall of China. In 2006, Alicia completed her first marathon, which she proudly ran in the birthplace of the sport - Greece. Also, the siren and Robinson have co-developed and cowritten an original series for the CW Network entitled "Zora".
Unbeknownst to her loyalists, Keys' foray into Hollywood isn't entirely unfamiliar territory. Inheriting acting chops from her theater mom, Keys co-starred on The Cosby Show as a friend of Rudy Huxtable when she was only four-years-old. In January 2007, the native New Yorker makes her silver screen debut in Universal Pictures' Smokin' Aces.
That desire for diversification translates to her philanthropic efforts. In 2002, Keys joined with "Keep A Child Alive (KCA)," a non-profit organization dedicated to providing life-saving antiretroviral treatment to children and their families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the developing world.
Undoubtedly, Alicia Keys is an evolving artist who has claimed ownership of her future. "My music allows me to speak freely," she says. "It doesn't have a beginning or ending because it's an integral part of my ongoing journey." As she progresses in her artistry and life, it's evident that Keys profoundly invests her attention and energy to every commitment she makes.
Whether it's producing another platinum award-winning album or serving as an activist in the Motherland, our beloved soul maven is a creative force and will forever be the consummate musician, actress, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and philanthropist.
