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Alicia Keys
Everything about Alicia Keys says diversity. From her eclectic style, interchangeable but always beautiful appearance, to her song stylings which bring a blend of jazz and classical music with soul and hip-hop to form a completely new and original sound. Ms. Keys was born in Hell’s Kitchen and raised with a great many different musical influences propelling her life and dreams. She started playing piano at seven, and by fourteen was discovered by her manager.
Alicia has released three albums to date. Her debut album, Songs in A Minor, released in 2001, was an instant success. Eclectic and interesting, the album sold more than ten million units world wide. She followed up the success of her first release by going back into the studio after long months of touring and released her second endeavor in 2003. The Diary of Alicia Keys exceeded every expectation, certified seven times platinum. She followed up that second album with a third, Alicia Keys Unplugged, in 2005. Unplugged featured new music, favorite past recordings, and notable collaborations with some of the music industry’s most respected artists.
To date, the artist has earned nine Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, three World Music Awards, and eleven Billboard Music Awards, along with a vast assortment of awards from MTV, Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice and the NAACP. To add to her prolific music career, Alicia Keys is also a New York Times Best Selling Author and co-creator of “Zora” a TV series due out in 2007. The series involves issues faced by an interracial child going through adolescence.
Most recently the songstress has followed up with a foray into acting. The new motion picture, Smokin’ Aces, co-stars Keys. She plays an assassin on the hunt for a mark worth a million dollars, who a number of other hit men are after simultaneously. The character is so different from Keys’ real life persona it should be a great indication of her acting ability.
She’s also co-starring in the soon to be released The Nanny Diaries, based off of the novel by the same title, with Scarlett Johansson, cementing herself as a bonafide acting presence. The next big acting role for Ms. Keys is as a portrayal of a Harlem born prodigy named Philippa Schyler. Philippa is the interracial child of an African American Author and Journalist, and a white Artist and Journalist, and becomes a concert pianist. The film is being produced by Halle Berry.
With all of these massive undertakings currently underway, you’d think Ms. Keys could find time for little else. Still she finds time to volunteer time and funds to charitable events and organizations aimed to help in Africa and here, such as AIDS and HIV research and healthcare organizations. Other organizations she supports are aimed in her home area, giving inner city kids the chance to explore the arts, such as dance, music, and acting in an environment where they can grow and feel safe. Many of the kids in these programs would never be exposed to cultural enrichment without the contributions of donors like Keys.
The artist has been traveling abroad between what must be a grueling schedule and has said that her next album, like the ones before it, will be a compilation of all the new experiences life has brought her. Each of her albums remains true to her, and true to the period in her life that wrought them. Her fans eagerly await the next installment.
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