About once every decade, we get an artist whose voice transcends situation. The amount of talent they have when they sing seems unnatural, if not impossible. And they don’t even seem like they’re trying! In the ’90s R&B genre, that voice was Alicia Keys. The people around her had known she had the pipes from the moment she started singing, to the day she got signed.

That’s not to say she didn’t work to get where she is – just that talent that big can’t sit unnoticed for long. It can’t – have you heard her project?! Want to learn more about Ms. Keys? Read below.

Early Life

Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook in Hell’s Kitchen in the early ’80s. And though many people make assumptions about her based on her skin tone, she’s actually half Italian. Alicia started playing piano at the age of seven and went to a performing high school, where she graduated early. She was faced with the impossibly lucky choice of going to Columbia or working with Columbia records. She chose the latter. That contract got her the chance to work on the Men in Black soundtrack – an early hit.

Arista and Alicia

While Men in Black was a success, her time with Columbia records wasn’t. She soon moved to Arista records, then followed Clive Davis to J Records, his personal label. It wasn’t until 2001 that she put out Songs in A Minor, her debut album that topped the charts.

From the time the album came out, Alicia ruled the early 2000’s. She would feature on TRL and have her music videos all over VH1. She even did a track with Usher, called “My Boo.” Now, in the 2020s, Alica works with her husband Swizz Beats, on fostering new artists. She still (occasionally) makes new music, too.