Alicia Keys...

Just this song and this vid will have you believing Alicia is amazing but in case you need a little more convincing...

"There's no formula to my music, it's just rooted in my heart and soul. Whether I talk about visiting the pyramids in Egypt, to witnessing the AIDS epidemic in Africa or matters of the heart everyone will be able to experience where I've been and where I am going in my life."

Alicia grew up in Hell's Kitchen in New York and she was discovered when she was 14 by her manager Jeff Robinson at a Harlem PAL. At the time she was attending the Professional Performing Arts School and thats when she was introduced to songwriting. Her early life wasn't easy but that is what inspired the musical magic that is a mix of soul, hip-hop, jazz and classical. With influences from all different generations and genres some of them include Nina Simone, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder; the classical composers Frederic Chopin, Erik Satie, and Leontyne Price and the urban artists Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and the Wu-Tang Clan. 

 Alicia was playing everywhere she could including tiny clubs and street corners and after two years she received a scholarship to Columbia but shortly left to pursue her music. 

In 2001 Alicia released her five-time Grammy Award winning album Songs In A Minor which sold over 235,000 copies in the first week. Then her next The Diary of Alicia Keys was released  in December 2003 and went seven-times Platinum. The release of As I Am was bigger again selling over 742,000 copies in its first week had Alicia holding the prestigious title as the biggest debut for a female R&B artist in SoundScan history. She released her fourth album The Element Of Freedom in December 2009 

But what makes her really stand out is her compassion and her dedication towards the charities she supports. 

In 2002 Alicia joined the non-profit organization "Keep A Child Alive (KCA)," which is dedicated to help children and their families in Africa and the developing world with HIV/AIDS by providing them with life-saving anti-retroviral treatment. (ARV's) 

"I have teamed up with KCA and co-founder Leigh Blake to lend my voice and support to the fight against AIDS that have left more than 12 million African children orphaned and 25 million dead in Africa during the last 25 years," Alicia says "This organization is an emergency response to the deadly "treatment gap" that is destroying Africa." 

Alicia returned home with a new sense of purpose. She and KCA set a goal to increase the 17% Sub-Saharan Africans who are receiving treatment to 72%. Over the last three years,  has brought together musical influences such as Bono, Kanye West, Damian Marley, Fela Kuti, David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz, Angelique Kidjo, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Nas, Common, and John Legend to help raise AIDS awareness and funds which provided ARV's to those desperately in need, help build clinics, pay for hospital staff, food and even care for orphans of the pandemic. 

"It's amazing to return to Africa and witness those who were so sickly they literally were near death, being brought back to life because of the medical care they were able to receive," she says. "Just knowing that your time and effort has helped build pediatric wings in hospitals and supply medicine to those who might not otherwise receive it, gives me a real sense of purpose."

Alicia is also a board member of "Frum Tha Ground Up," which is a non-profit organization close to her home turf which is dedicated to inspiring, motivating and encouraging the dreams and ambitions of young Americans.

She's also involved with "Teens in Motion," a grassroots organization that provides a safe environment for teens to excel in dance, singing, drama, spoken word and self-esteem workshops, located in the South Bronx.

 

 

I really loved this blog entry she had on her official website.

"

...they live in my music...

One night during the past holiday, one of my friends asked me if I miss people who have made their transition and are no longer with us during this time of year. She recalled how many moments she can still capture just by looking in a family album or using the tableware saved for those holiday festivities.

She reminded me that favorite foods can always be cooked, but somehow will never taste quite the same without her Grandma standing over the pots or supervising the making of the meal. Although it still gave her joy to watch the same old movies she used to watch with her grandpa, but not being able to hear his laugh or verbal reactions, diminished them a little.

I immediately thought of the many things I miss without my Nana or my spirited Titi’s being around to give the holidays that really special meaning. Up until that moment I hadn’t taken the time to look in any family albums or gone into the kitchen to make some of the comfort foods my Nana use to make. But not too long after my friend left, I was sitting at the piano and it occurred to me that even without trying, I could play just two or three simple notes, perhaps even a full chord and that specific sound would push to the surface the voice, even the spiritual presence of my Nana.

It was at that moment I realized that when my family albums are not around or I’m too far away to enjoy eating from my Nana’s favorite holiday plates, I can still “visit” with all of my loved ones by just touching the keys and listening to the melodies that once lived inside of them, and still live inside of me. So, they live in my music."


So there we someone who really really inspires me. 
Maly Xx.