Alicia Keys joins Zane Lowe on Apple Music for a wide-ranging conversation ahead of the release of her seventh studio album ‘ALICIA’, out this Friday. She tells Apple Music what she took for granted prior to the pandemic and reflects on struggles with early success, self worth, and her relationship with her parents growing up.
Alicia also runs through various tracks on the new album and shares what she’s learned from her husband Swizz Beatz, how her willingness to collaborate has evolved, why Verzuz is “our survival tool”, how she ended up collaborating with Jill Scott, and more.
Alicia Keys Tells Apple Music About ‘Here’ Being Her Favorite Album of Hers and How It Opened Doors For Her…
‘Here’ is maybe my favorite album. It’s so special to me. It carries with it such a magic, such a portal. It was the first time that I did something without compromise. None. I didn’t give a sh-t. Don’t come in here talking to me about what’s the radio single. I don’t want to hear it. This is my whole everything poured out from me, no holds barred, completely free. The way that the songs came, it was like it came down from a divine thing, and it was like, boom, and they would get written in 20 minutes. And I never wrote like that before, I told you. So it was my opening. It was definitely my opening. And it lead me to here, Alicia, because I started to understand, “Wow, look at all these feelings that you have. Look at all these thoughts that you have. Look at all these opinions you have. Look at all these ways that you’re experiencing the world, look how you can verbalize, and look þ I never accessed before.
Alicia Keys Tells Apple Music About Collaboration…
It’s always been tricky for me, collaboration. At the very beginning I hated it so much. I was so uncomfortable. I just didn’t know how to even sit in a room with another being. I felt completely exposed. It was just too much. But over time, I’ve definitely learned to enjoy that process, and I do enjoy it because there’s something so crazy about what I bring, and then what you bring is going to be completely different, and there’s something about the merging of energy that’s fascinating to me. And now, I feel like that’s another alchemy that’s created that I love the process of. So yes, and that process of being open and receiving and what’s meant to come from each person and creating something out of nothing is always incredible.
Alicia Keys Tells Apple Music About Verzuz and Working With Jill Scott…
First of all, what the hell with my baby and Tim in this Verzuz situation? It’s our survival tool. It has been our survival, and I live with him and I know what’s coming. I know what’s coming. So I was saying he did the daggone Jill Scott/ Erykah Badu Verzuz, which was my personal favorite. I’m bugging like crazy. I’m driving home from wherever and I’m listening to the thing through the car. And I mean I’m fan-girling out all the way. I’m singing every word, I’m bugging. I get to the crib, get out, continue, it’s like a whole thing, and I’m watching these two queens and Jill and that daggone smile. What is that? That smile is the most beautiful thing I ever saw. She is illuminating everything. And after the thing was over… he’s like, “Babe, Jill is on the phone.” And I get on the phone with her and I’m like, “You’re just… This is crazy. You’re so…” And she’s like, “Hi, how are you? This was so great.” And we have a moment. And I’m like, “Why haven’t we worked together? Why haven’t we? This is crazy.” And so she’s like, “I know, and I hope to come, and let’s connect.” And I said, “Yes, let’s connect.” Boom, left it alone. Go to that end part of the album where I went away by myself and I was like, “Wait, what do we need? And what are we doing?” Went to this super desolate area and was just totally alone. And Swizzy, he’s like, “Babe, what about this vibe?” And I’m like, “Ooh.” And we start talking about this idea of celebrating putting love on display and being that confident and that much of… You have to put this love on display. And we’re vibing, we’re vibing, I’m like, “Ooh, what if it was like this, like some Jill Scott sh-t.” And I start pretending to be Jill Scott. I’m just totally pretending to be Jill Scott. And I put it down, and he’s like, “Ooh. Send it to her. Send it to her right now.” And so, my engineer, Ann Mincieli been with me forever and is such a boss. She’s like, “Wait, what are we calling the song?” And I was like, “Call it Joe Scott. Because I don’t want to forget. Don’t forget, because I know I’m going to send it to Jill. Call it Joe Scott.” Boom. Called it Joe Scott, talked to Jill, we have an amazing thing. She’s so unbelievable. She’s like, “Okay. You want me to do it?” She did it. Went out of her way, sorted it out, sent it back, called me like, “What you did was so cool. I was thinking, maybe I’ll just do a few backgrounds.” I said, “No, no, no, no, no. No. What I did was pretended to be you. I need you to be you.” And she was like, “Okay.” Came back, killed it, as per normal. And Ann did these sick background vocals, it was so outrageous. If you could hear the difference you could hear her mind, which is just ridiculous. And so then, we’re at the remastering, and we’re calling in this Joe Scott, featuring Joe Scott. I was like, “Definitely.”
