Alicia Keys From Birth To Stardom
 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.
Alicia was 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 Keys 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,
Songs in A Minor, is set for release on J Records in late June.
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. From
her official site
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