Alicia Keys "Behind the scenes @ her showcase" (Lo)(Hi)
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, yet untitled, is set for release on J Records
in late April.
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.
Alicia Keys will be performing in New
York City all this February.