Alicia Keys: The New Queen of Words

Born on January 25, 1981, to an interracial couple, Alicia Keys gets her style from artists, such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Roberta Flack. Her musical upbringing includes being educated in the styles of jazz, R&B and classical music. She is one of the rare artists who can actually sing and play, but she can write her own lyrics.

Her songs touch audiences in any race or age, because her songs are true to human nature. The words are emotionally mature, written by someone who not only has written them, but also lived them.

Look at some of the words to “Fallin” and see if you recognized this pattern in bad relationships:



Oh, oh, I never felt this way


How do you give me so much pleasure

And cause me so much pain

Just when I think

I've taken more than would a fool

I start fallin’ back in love with you

For all intensive purposes, these words could speak to any relationship. So, how does Alicia Keys, at the age of 24 know such pain? She grew up in Hell’s Kitchen with a white mother and a distant father. She started playing piano at the age of seven, with the understanding that she could quit anything else, but piano.

There is substance to this young woman, as reflected by her graduation at the age of 16 from the Professional Performance Arts School, where she focused on vocal performance. She earned her credits in the musical world singing back up to some of the industry’s best artist. When she was “discovered,” her managers were wise in how they presented her to the world.

She did not come out scantily clad or acting like a thug, but as herself, smart and talented. Her talent was her image. In the talent area, her albums have garnered multiple awards and millions of albums sold.