Speaker A
Hey, Alicia.
Alicia Keys shares insights on creativity, spirituality, her upbringing, and Grammy hosting in Vogue México's 73 Questions.
Key Takeaways
- Alicia Keys values meditation and spirituality as key to her creativity and daily routine.
- Her challenging upbringing in Hell's Kitchen deeply influenced her musical style and artistic expression.
- She embraces adaptability and flow, especially highlighted by her Grammy hosting experience during a tragic event.
- Alicia emphasizes strength and clear communication, lessons learned from the women who raised her.
- Performing new material excites her as it allows her to share her evolving artistic vision.
Summary
- Alicia Keys discusses her typical five hours of sleep and morning meditation routine to start her day with peace.
- She feels most creative at night when it's quiet and describes her home as full of love, vibes, and loudness.
- Alicia reveals her favorite composer is Chopin and shares the first album she bought was BBD's Poison.
- She talks about her early music career, including being part of girl groups and writing her first song at age 11 about her grandfather's passing.
- Alicia reflects on growing up in Hell's Kitchen in the 90s, describing it as a harsh environment that influenced her music style.
- She shares lessons from the women who raised her, emphasizing strength, directness, and the golden rule.
- Alicia recounts hosting the Grammys during a tragic day and how she adapted to the emotional atmosphere.
- She describes her pre-performance rituals involving mantras, prayer, tea, incense, and crystals.
- Alicia expresses excitement about performing new material and connecting with her audience through fresh songs and visuals.
- She identifies as very spiritual and connected to the universe.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker B
What's up?
Speaker A
How are you?
Speaker B
I'm good. How are you feeling?
Speaker A
I'm good. Thanks so much for having me by for 73 questions.
Speaker B
Absolutely. I'm glad you can make it.
Speaker A
Okay. Now, I know how busy you are, so let's get this thing done.
Speaker B
All good.
Speaker A
So on average, how many hours of sleep do you get every single night?
Speaker B
I think I'm getting about five hours a night.
Speaker A
And what's the first thing on your mind every morning?
Speaker B
When I wake up in the morning, I'm thinking about, um, I'm usually thinking about how do I get time to meditate so that I can set my, you know, set my day off right.
Speaker A
Got to start your day with peace of mind, right?
Speaker A
Now, do you feel most creative in the morning or at night?
Speaker B
I feel really creative at night when it's quiet.
Speaker A
Alicia, let me tell you how much I love your beautiful home.
Speaker B
Thank you. I love it. We love it. We've been here maybe five or six years and it's definitely feels so good.
Speaker A
And how would you describe your home?
Speaker B
I describe it as a big ball of love, vibes and loudness because there's always a lot of people here running in and out.
Speaker B
We have really good time here.
Speaker A
Do you have a favorite room in the house?
Speaker B
Um, I do, but I'm not taking you there yet.
Speaker A
Oh.
Speaker B
Give me a second.
Speaker A
Obvious question.
Speaker A
But is there a piano here?
Speaker B
Um, not that room, but there's another one.
Speaker A
Can't wait to see it.
Speaker B
Should we have some tea?
Speaker A
Oh, uh,
Speaker B
I love tea.
Speaker B
I'm like a fanatic.
Speaker A
I think I'm okay. Thank you, though.
Speaker A
Um, who's your favorite composer?
Speaker B
Um, I think my favorite composer is Chopin. I love how soulful and like deep and dark.
Speaker B
It feels. I'm a I'm a fan.
Speaker A
What do you listen for when you listen to music?
Speaker B
When I'm listening to music, I'm listening for that, you know, that energy that just kind of rises the arms.
Speaker B
The hair on your arms and it just makes you, you know that thing that you're like,
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
That.
Speaker B
I'm looking for that.
Speaker A
It's a vibe.
Speaker B
It's a vibe.
Speaker A
So what's the first album that you've ever bought?
Speaker B
The first album I ever bought, uh, was BBD.
Speaker B
Um,
Speaker B
Poison.
Speaker B
Girl, I must warn you.
Speaker A
You are taking it way back.
Speaker B
Okay.
Speaker A
That's right.
Speaker B
Yeah, that one's kind of going back.
Speaker B
But that's my first one.
Speaker B
I was,
Speaker B
What do you want?
Speaker A
I read somewhere that you were actually part of a girl group when you were 13.
Speaker B
Ouch. That was hot.
Speaker B
Um, I was a part of a girl group. I was a part of a few girl groups.
Speaker B
And but the one that I think you're talking about is was called Ambition.
Speaker A
That's right.
Speaker B
E M B I S H U N. We were trying to be cute.
Speaker A
Uh, how old were you when you wrote your first song?
Speaker B
First song, I was real good song.
Speaker B
I was 14.
Speaker B
First song, I was 11.
Speaker A
And what was it about?
Speaker B
It was about my grandfather passing away and it was actually the beginning of why I started writing to like express.
Speaker B
Um, it's called I'm all alone.
Speaker A
And you remember the lyrics?
Speaker B
It was,
Speaker B
I sit here.
Speaker B
I was 11.
Speaker B
So anyway,
Speaker B
I sit here all alone and I wonder what is wrong, why are there so many deaths, so many lost survive.
Speaker A
That's really beautiful.
Speaker B
So I was thinking about.
Speaker A
Do you remember what your mother was playing on the speakers when you were young?
Speaker B
My mother played a lot of Bobby Caldwell.
Speaker B
And she loved,
Speaker B
But they won't do for love.
Speaker A
Yeah, Alicia, singing to me. I'm loving it.
Speaker A
And what's one thing your mom said that left a lasting impression?
Speaker B
Um, she always said treat, you know, the golden rule.
Speaker B
She was like, treat people how you want to be treated.
Speaker B
And that is always how I think about it.
Speaker A
What is the biggest lesson you learned from the women who raised you?
Speaker B
Biggest lesson I learned, uh, the women that raised me really taught me how to be badasses.
Speaker B
Like really strong, just don't take any mess.
Speaker B
Um, say what you want, be direct, be clear.
Speaker B
Have to know what you want to say and how you're going to say it and just deliver it.
Speaker A
Yeah, that's powerful stuff.
Speaker A
And you grew up in Hell's Kitchen in the 90s. You've even called it the harshest of the harsh.
Speaker A
When you think about that time in New York City, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
Speaker B
When I think about Hell's Kitchen, New York City, I'm thinking about at the at that time in the 90s, I'm thinking about, you know, a lot of darkness, a lot of drugs, prostitution.
Speaker B
It was like the place where all the people who didn't belong anywhere else would go.
Speaker B
Which is why I like Hell's Kitchen was so fitting.
Speaker B
So it was definitely a,
Speaker B
It's a deep experience.
Speaker A
Yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker A
Um, do you feel that that experience from out there affected your music?
Speaker B
Definitely affected.
Speaker B
Definitely affected my music.
Speaker B
Just gave me that love for hip hop, for soul, for blues, for truth, for poetry, for the dark soulfulness.
Speaker B
Um, it definitely added to that mixture.
Speaker A
So what do you think is the harshest thing in Hell's Kitchen today?
Speaker B
Mickey Mouse, because it's Disney.
Speaker A
So these days when you return to New York, where's the first place you go when you touch down?
Speaker B
Here.
Speaker B
I I'm always trying to go straight home.
Speaker B
Like quick as I can.
Speaker A
Now, what's your favorite place to dance?
Speaker B
My bedroom.
Speaker A
Alicia, there are kids watching this.
Speaker A
Out of all the places in New York City, what would you say is the best hidden gem?
Speaker B
Oh, I have this really cool, um, it's kind of literal, but this really cool gem spot that I go to.
Speaker B
Because I love crystals and I love to collect them.
Speaker B
Um, so,
Speaker B
for me, that's where I want to go.
Speaker A
That's literally a gem.
Speaker B
Literally.
Speaker A
Oh, can I show you that room I was telling you about?
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Love to.
Speaker B
All right, here it goes.
Speaker A
So, Alicia, let's talk about that incredible job you did hosting the Grammys.
Speaker B
Wow, that was definitely a unforgettable moment.
Speaker A
How long were you prepping for that?
Speaker B
You know, I mean, I was prepping for it from the minute that I knew that it was going to happen.
Speaker B
Which was sometime in the summer, but I mean, I guess you really start to prep, you know,
Speaker B
November, December, you know, a little bit closer just so that you can be timely and everything.
Speaker A
Right.
Speaker A
And on a more serious note, had everything that happened that day affected the evening?
Speaker B
It was definitely crazy, you know, we lost Kobe that day.
Speaker B
And it was just hours before the show.
Speaker B
And it was so sad and Gigi and the all the families that were there.
Speaker B
Uh, it it changed everything. It made everything that we planned for go out the window.
Speaker B
And just had to go with the spirit, you know, had to go with the genuine feeling of how we were all feeling.
Speaker B
Which was devastating.
Speaker A
Well, I mean, you handled it beautifully, pivoting from a from the original plans there.
Speaker B
Pivoting is I think a really important thing that I have been learning.
Speaker B
You know, you don't always know what is meant for you.
Speaker B
And sometimes you just have to be willing to flow and that was definitely a big example of the flow.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
It was it was beautiful.
Speaker A
So performing in front of your fellow artists, did anyone make you nervous?
Speaker B
Um, you know, I,
Speaker B
It is a nerve-wracking experience and it can be in kind of a nervous room because it's so filled with everybody.
Speaker B
Um, but for me, I really want to create the calm.
Speaker B
Like I really want to create the good energy.
Speaker B
I want to welcome people, make people feel good, make people feel appreciated.
Speaker B
So I didn't feel nervous.
Speaker B
I felt like I was bringing that, you know, good energy.
Speaker A
As you always do.
Speaker A
And do you have any mantras or rituals before you go on stage?
Speaker B
I'm a big mantra lover.
Speaker B
I'm a big ritual lover.
Speaker B
I love tea.
Speaker B
I love, uh, incense, candles.
Speaker B
Stones, like we said already, crystals.
Speaker B
Um, but I'm big on prayer.
Speaker B
And I just like really intend for what I'm hoping to come out of the the moment.
Speaker A
Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?
Speaker B
Very.
Speaker B
Very spiritual and just very connected to, um,
Speaker B
yeah, to the universe.
Speaker A
Are we going to see Alicia back, uh, for year three of the Grammys?
Speaker B
Oh, Lord.
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker B
Not talking about it.
Speaker A
All right, fine, fine, fine.
Speaker A
Now talk to me a little bit about performing new material versus old.
Speaker A
Do you have a preference?
Speaker B
Um,
Speaker B
I really love performing new material.
Speaker B
It's it's really exciting.
Speaker B
Because, you know, you've been working on new songs and new visuals and new ideas.
Speaker B
And it's really exciting to get everybody in your mix and understand where you're going.
Speaker A
So you're excited about the music business today.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
I am excited about the music business.
Speaker B
I think that it's a whole new world.
Speaker B
It's a wild, wild west.
Speaker B
It's like there's no rules, it's this open canvas.
Speaker B
That you can create exactly what you want.
Speaker B
And there's an opportunity for so many people. It's not it's not so, um,
Speaker B
you know, no matter who you are, where you live, you can you can be involved, you can express yourself.
Speaker B
You can put your music out.
Speaker B
You can be independent.
Speaker B
I I love that it's free like that.
Speaker A
Is there any facet of the industry that you wish you could shine a light on and change?
Speaker B
Anything that I'd want to change?
Speaker B
In the industry?
Speaker B
Um,
Speaker B
Um, I'd love, I mean, I we we have an organization called She Is The Music.
Speaker B
I'd love to see more women in at the at the table and that's what we're talking about and what what we're creating.
Speaker B
And, you know, more women and engineers, more women producers, more women in boardrooms.
Speaker B
You know, just more women really creating the world we want.
Speaker A
Got a platform.
Speaker A
Use it.
Speaker A
Now, what's a talent of yours that people may be surprised to know you have?
Speaker B
You might be surprised to know.
Speaker B
That, um, I got a little a little flow with me.
Speaker A
You got a little flow with you.
Speaker B
I got a little bit of a flow.
Speaker A
That's pretty mysterious.
Speaker B
What's up, E?
Speaker C
Hey.
Speaker A
How you doing?
Speaker A
Alicia, we're shifting gears, we're moving on.
Speaker A
Here we go.
Speaker A
What's the last book that you read?
Speaker B
Chimanda and Gozi Adichi, her Purple Hibiscus.
Speaker B
I love her. She's so special.
Speaker B
That's the last book I I I read.
Speaker A
And what's the last place that you visited?
Speaker B
The last place I visited, we were just in Miami.
Speaker B
Yep.
Speaker B
And Berlin, London.
Speaker B
And and France.
Speaker A
Come on, E.
Speaker B
You want to try one?
Speaker B
I thought you were going to beat me in, uh, air hockey.
Speaker C
But I got to go soon, so.
Speaker B
You have to leave?
Speaker C
Soon.
Speaker B
All right, show show him show them my hidden talent.
Speaker A
E, come on.
Speaker A
Show me what you got.
Speaker B
This might might might not be one of my hidden talents.
Speaker A
Let's go.
Speaker A
Come on, Egypt.
Speaker B
Hey.
Speaker B
That was good.
Speaker B
At least you got one in.
Speaker A
Got a pool shark in the making.
Speaker A
I promise you, Egypt.
Speaker A
You're going to.
Speaker B
I won.
Speaker A
Okay, back to the questions.
Speaker A
Uh, yoga or Pilates?
Speaker B
Yoga.
Speaker A
What's your favorite scent?
Speaker B
My favorite scent is Nag Champa.
Speaker B
It's like a an incense.
Speaker B
It's beautiful.
Speaker C
Like me, the eight ball.
Speaker A
Now, Alicia, I heard you secretly wanted to be a party planner.
Speaker B
I am the most amazing party planner you've ever met.
Speaker C
I don't know.
Speaker B
I am.
Speaker B
How about all your birthdays?
Speaker A
I don't know if he agrees with you, Alicia.
Speaker B
I won.
Speaker A
Anyway, you recently said that your kids taught you how to appreciate the magic when it's there.
Speaker A
Which I think was really well said.
Speaker B
Oh, that shot.
Speaker B
Talented.
Speaker B
Oh, well.
Speaker B
Um, my kids do teach me the magic actually, you know, I think that even just now, you know, the the feeling of that,
Speaker B
genuine, you know, presence and being present and just appreciating the little things.
Speaker B
You know, they show me that all the time.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
And what's the back story behind the names Egypt and Genesis?
Speaker B
Egypt's back story is I I took a really important trip to Egypt that changed my life.
Speaker B
And I realized that there, I realized there's nothing I can't build.
Speaker B
There's nothing that I can't create.
Speaker B
And so when I was pregnant, I,
Speaker B
my husband actually suggested Egypt.
Speaker B
He also suggested Genesis.
Speaker B
He said he had a dream and Genesis being kind of like the beginning.
Speaker B
Like renewal is really, really powerful.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
And what what are they obsessed with at the moment?
Speaker B
Um, Dragon Ball Z.
Speaker C
Not really.
Speaker B
No.
Speaker C
Yeah, we're we're with action figures, but also,
Speaker B
Oh.
Speaker C
More stuff.
Speaker B
Um, Pokemon.
Speaker A
Now, Egypt, I hear you're in the music, huh?
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker A
Yeah. And Alicia, how does it make you feel having a son that's producing and releasing music?
Speaker B
Yeah, it's it's really awesome.
Speaker B
He plays piano.
Speaker B
He practices really hard.
Speaker B
And he produces.
Speaker B
He produced he produced for Kendrick.
Speaker B
And actually a few of our sons are really musical, so KJ, Naz,
Speaker B
Egypt, Nicole.
Speaker B
We have a we have a kind of a,
Speaker B
musical family.
Speaker C
For other reasons.
Speaker A
You're on your way.
Speaker A
And what's your favorite thing to do together as a family?
Speaker B
I think we really like to roller skate.
Speaker A
Roller skating, that's a nice little tradition for the family.
Speaker B
How about you, E?
Speaker A
Is it roller rinks? Is it more street?
Speaker C
We go to skate at at, um,
Speaker A
Uh, what is it?
Speaker C
At at skateboard or something.
Speaker B
Oh, yeah, yeah, we roller skate there and we also roller skate in our gallery sometimes.
Speaker B
That's pretty crazy.
Speaker B
I can show you that room later.
Speaker A
Please do.
Speaker A
Love to see it.
Speaker A
It sounds good.
Speaker A
And whoa, look at this ceiling.
Speaker A
This is incredible.
Speaker B
Isn't it so, so beautiful?
Speaker B
I love this so much.
Speaker B
This this world just it transports you.
Speaker B
Uh oh, he's trying to beat me.
Speaker A
Okay, here we go.
Speaker A
Alicia, what's the most rewarding thing about being a mother?
Speaker B
The most rewarding thing about being a mother is,
Speaker B
Oh.
Speaker B
When they beat you.
Speaker B
You know?
Speaker B
When they're better than you.
Speaker B
It's really, really rewarding.
Speaker A
School.
Speaker B
And when they,
Speaker A
It's tough competition.
Speaker B
Oh.
Speaker B
All right.
Speaker B
All right.
Speaker B
Let me show you the gallery.
Speaker A
So, describe Swizz's parenting style in three words.
Speaker B
Swizz's parenting style is hard as nails.
Speaker B
Now, I'm just kidding.
Speaker B
He's actually really sweet and he's definitely,
Speaker B
you know, he's like, he's obviously not as cuddly as mama is.
Speaker B
But he's really, really beautiful.
Speaker B
And he's honest.
Speaker B
Very honest.
Speaker A
And what have you and him taught each other?
Speaker B
He's taught me about, um, the magic.
Speaker B
Like allowing space for the magic, allowing room for there to be magic.
Speaker B
And I've taught him about kind of coming a little bit down out of the clouds.
Speaker B
A little bit.
Speaker B
Just a tiny bit.
Speaker A
Where do you feel like you're at your most personal best?
Speaker B
I'm at my personal best when, um, you know, when I have a nice balance between my family, my work, my creativity,
Speaker B
my dreams, myself.
Speaker A
What is the hardest challenge that you've ever had to overcome?
Speaker B
Hardest challenge I've ever had to overcome is probably just really, uh, recognizing that,
Speaker B
the power that I was looking for or the answers that I was looking for are inside of me.
Speaker B
As opposed to looking outside of me all the time and allowing other people to,
Speaker B
maybe control the outcome.
Speaker A
Alicia, everywhere I look has the most amazing art I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker A
This is amazing.
Speaker B
Isn't it so sick?
Speaker B
Kehinde Wiley.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
This is good.
Speaker B
Oh my gosh, this is such a beautiful room.
Speaker B
I love it in here so much.
Speaker A
And what can you tell me about this artist?
Speaker B
Kehinde is very, very special.
Speaker B
I mean, I can't even.
Speaker B
This is his largest piece and we are so blessed to own it.
Speaker B
And this is a cause piece.
Speaker B
That is also very iconic.
Speaker B
And if you went down there, I mean, it looks huge here, but if you went down and looked at it, it's like massive.
Speaker B
And, uh, we actually had to remove the whole side of the house to get him in here.
Speaker B
It was crazy.
Speaker A
Well, there's certainly no lack of, uh, inspiration with this art, right?
Speaker B
It really is.
Speaker B
It's beautiful.
Speaker A
Now, you have a new album coming out.
Speaker B
Yes.
Speaker A
And it's entitled,
Speaker B
Alicia.
Speaker B
Alicia, the album.
Speaker A
What made you go with that name?
Speaker B
Yeah.
Speaker B
Who is that person anyway?
Speaker B
I'm actually trying to figure out.
Speaker A
You know what I mean?
Speaker A
What can I expect to hear on it?
Speaker B
You're going to hear heat rocks.
Speaker B
You're going to hear that timeless music that's going to be with you forever in your heart.
Speaker B
And you're definitely going to hear different sides of Alicia.
Speaker B
Because I think there's so much that makes us who we are and we don't get a chance to always express all the sides.
Speaker B
So that's what I'm looking that's what I'm doing.
Speaker A
And why was releasing Underdog so important to you?
Speaker B
Underdog just feels like such a story.
Speaker B
It's such a moment.
Speaker B
I think we're at a time where we more than ever just need to know that we're going to figure it out.
Speaker B
And we're going to make it through.
Speaker B
Um, I think that just for me, I always need to hear those words.
Speaker B
Because sometimes things feel kind of dark.
Speaker B
So underdog feels triumphant.
Speaker A
So this is a great time to talk about your new book.
Speaker B
Hmm.
Speaker B
More myself.
Speaker B
It's a theme.
Speaker B
Alicia.
Speaker B
More myself.
Speaker B
It's definitely a theme that comes from really understanding more about how to become my authentic self.
Speaker B
And I wanted to share some of those journeys with you because I think we're all looking for like the truth and the realness in our lives.
Speaker A
Absolutely, Alicia.
Speaker B
Thank you.
Speaker B
Are you leaving?
Speaker A
No, I'm not going anywhere.
Speaker B
I was asking Egypt if he was leaving.
Speaker A
Oh, sorry.
Speaker B
All right.
Speaker A
So what was your process, uh, writing a book like?
Speaker B
It's really, really, uh,
Speaker B
deep, crazy, interesting.
Speaker B
It's so much different than writing music.
Speaker B
You know, it's like music is these short moments.
Speaker B
But you have to tell these stories in these short moments.
Speaker B
This the book, um, is just so much more in depth, so much more memories.
Speaker B
And also therapeutic because you start to realize the things you did.
Speaker B
To create these moments and how do you undo them?
Speaker B
So it was very it was it was really amazing.
Speaker B
But hard and deep.
Speaker A
And which process was harder, songwriting or memoir?
Speaker B
I think the I think the journey.
Speaker B
Because I'm calling the book a journey.
Speaker B
The journey is definitely the hardest thing to write.
Speaker B
Maybe because I just don't do it often and songs I write more often.
Speaker B
So I'm more familiar with how to get it all done.
Speaker B
Can I have a hug?
Speaker A
Sure.
Speaker B
All right.
Speaker B
I love you.
Speaker C
Hi.
Speaker B
Have a good day.
Speaker B
I'll see you at the airport.
Speaker C
All right.
Speaker B
Thanks for beating me.
Speaker C
Hi.
Speaker A
They're so sweet.
Speaker B
I know.
Speaker B
I know.
Speaker A
Are hugs, uh, standard issue here?
Speaker B
I love hugs.
Speaker B
I need them.
Speaker A
So is there anything that you were nervous about sharing with everyone in your book?
Speaker B
I mean, I think,
Speaker B
you get so personal, you get so vulnerable, you get so, you get so kind of,
Speaker B
for me, it was more about the process of expressing the way that it happened.
Speaker B
And and so I didn't feel nervous about it, but it definitely just feels vulnerable.
Speaker A
And who are some of the people that you thanked in the book?
Speaker B
Definitely thank Oprah.
Speaker B
This is the first book on her imprint.
Speaker B
I'm super proud of her and so excited that her mentorship and sisterhood like brings us back together like this.
Speaker A
What do you hope people will take away from the story?
Speaker B
I really hope people take away the conversation that I'd love for us to continue having.
Speaker B
Like how do we all create our own destiny?
Speaker B
As opposed to the expectations that are put on us by other people and sometimes we live out those expectations because we're we're trying to be the good girl or the good boy.
Speaker B
And I would love for us to challenge that and talk about how do we just how do we find our own truth?
Speaker A
What does feminism mean to you?
Speaker B
Feminism to me.
Speaker B
Just means the power of a woman and honoring it and cherishing it.
Speaker B
And really lifting it up and revering it.
Speaker A
I like that.
Speaker A
And what values do you feel are the most important to instill in your kids?
Speaker B
I want my kids to to know what it.
Speaker B
Know kindness, you know, know empathy.
Speaker B
I definitely want them to understand their blessings.
Speaker B
Be grateful.
Speaker B
Gratitude.
Speaker B
Um, I want them to understand how to, um, speak to people clearly.
Speaker B
Communicate in a way that it helps them get across their point of view.
Speaker B
There's so much to connect and teach them.
Speaker A
What would you say is the toughest thing about raising kids in 2020?
Speaker B
Toughest thing about raising sons in 2020 is,
Speaker B
Um,
Speaker B
you know, I think that,
Speaker B
I think the world is could be a very dangerous place for men.
Speaker B
And and especially young black men.
Speaker B
And I think that just to continuously teach them and show them how to stand in their kingliness.
Speaker B
Is really important.
Speaker B
So, uh, they're already well on their way to.
Speaker A
They are on their way.
Speaker A
Now, Alicia, I believe I was promised a certain,
Speaker B
Oh, I think I was going to show you my piano.
Speaker B
My other favorite room.
Speaker A
Uh, so what does me time look like for Alicia?
Speaker B
Me time is, you know, my meditations.
Speaker B
Me time for sure.
Speaker B
Um, me time is also, you know, a special a you know, a special spa moment just for myself.
Speaker B
It's it's a moment with my girls, my home girls.
Speaker B
We get to just hang out.
Speaker B
My husband.
Speaker B
Obviously, but I guess, you know, that's still with other people.
Speaker B
But it it still fills me up.
Speaker B
You know, and I think that's what it is.
Speaker B
Like how do you fill yourself up?
Speaker A
And what's two words to describe your style?
Speaker B
Uh, tomboy chic.
Speaker A
There's the piano.
Speaker A
Looking good.
Speaker A
Who's most stylish person alive, Alicia?
Speaker B
I would say Billy Porter.
Speaker A
What are three wardrobe staples every woman should have?
Speaker B
Three wardrobe staples, I think you should have a a white tee.
Speaker B
A a fire fedora.
Speaker B
And a black leather.
Speaker A
Braids or curls?
Speaker B
Braids.
Speaker A
So this is where you write your music.
Speaker A
This is where it comes to life.
Speaker B
I love it.
Speaker A
Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker B
Thanks.
Speaker A
And you said that you don't have a traditional or strategic or formulaic approach to writing music.
Speaker A
Is that right?
Speaker B
Yeah, I don't.
Speaker B
Uh, you know, I just go with the heart for music.
Speaker B
I I don't get scientific with music.
Speaker B
I get more just what it feels like.
Speaker B
You know, that's the most important.
Speaker A
And what's the most difficult song that you've ever you've ever written?
Speaker B
It's so interesting.
Speaker B
Because the the hardest song I've ever created is also the easiest song I've ever written.
Speaker B
If I ain't got you is the easiest song to write.
Speaker B
But the hardest song to put in the form that you hear it in, uh, because it just took so long to figure out how to produce it right.
Speaker B
And create that right genuine energy.
Speaker B
So that's a that's a twofold.
Speaker A
And what would you say is the most beautiful song you've ever written?
Speaker B
Most beautiful song I've ever written.
Speaker A
What is it?
Speaker B
One of my favorite songs is called Not Even The King.
Speaker B
And it just talks about no matter how much money you have.
Speaker B
Nothing is more important than love.
Speaker A
No words truer than that.
Speaker A
Alicia, I do have to apologize because I didn't come prepared to play your piano.
Speaker B
Oh, that's okay.
Speaker A
But,
Speaker B
Hello.
Speaker A
But what tips do you have for all those watching starting to play?
Speaker B
I would say anyone that's just starting to play.
Speaker B
Just keep playing, just practice and keep trying different styles.
Speaker B
And, you know, just especially figure out who you are and what what special thing you have.
Speaker A
And you collaborated with so many legends in your career.
Speaker A
Who's left on the wish list?
Speaker B
Uh, I still.
Speaker B
I realized that I didn't get to collaborate with Prince before he passed away.
Speaker B
And I I'm so sad about that.
Speaker B
And I still haven't collaborated with Lauren Hill.
Speaker A
Lauren Hill.
Speaker B
Like that needs to happen.
Speaker A
Oh, that needs to happen.
Speaker B
Alicia, besides piano.
Speaker A
What else can you what else can you play?
Speaker B
Um, I play all keyboards.
Speaker B
Play a little bit of guitar.
Speaker B
But my main stay is all keyboards, so any type of piano, any type of keyboard, I'm I'm messing with it.
Speaker A
And your piano sound is so soulful.
Speaker A
It's, uh,
Speaker B
Very spiritual.
Speaker B
Very spiritual.
Speaker A
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B
Very just connected.
Speaker B
To, um,
Speaker B
yeah, spirit.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
And what's your attitude in life in 2020?
Speaker B
My attitude in life in 2020 is no holding back.
Speaker B
No dimming the light.
Speaker B
And complete clarity.
Speaker A
Well, Alicia, it's time for clarity of the keys.
Speaker B
Should I play you something?
Speaker A
Please do.
Topics:Alicia Keys73 QuestionsVogue MéxicoCreativitySpiritualityHell's KitchenGrammy AwardsMusic careerMeditationNew material
