Blog 1A

Alicia Keys has been a very influential musician in my life since I have been a young girl.  She has influenced me to be the creative person I am today.  Along with other artists like Lauryn Hill she has created music that is easy on the ears, and has yet to disappoint me. 

Alicia Keys is the epitome of the contrasting artists out today.  She does not conform to the norm and she was not like other r&b singers that were out when she first came on the scene.  Alicia is different in many ways that could be appreciated by many.  She has a voice that no one had ever heard and this created a large fan base for her.  Not only was her voice beautiful, but she had a striking new look no one was used to.  People were used to the video vixen-type singers who did not show much emotion in their videos, and Keys portrayed the total opposite.  In the beginning, she was very natural, wearing braids and didn't go overboard trying to be something she's not.  An accomplished pianist, Keys incorporates piano into a majority of her songs and often writes about love, heartbreak and female empowerment.  Being that she plays the piano was very influential to me because as a child, I was FORCED to play piano, but when I saw Alicia Keys I did not feel so bad.  However, I ended up not sticking with the piano lessons... which was the worst decision ever!

Alicia keys has consciously created songs to empower women of all ages and this is another reason why I find her to be an influential individual.  Above, is a video of her song "Superwoman" and this is one of her many songs of empowerment.  Others include, "A Woman's Worth", "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart", "Unbreakable" and many more.  There have been many other female artists who have attempted to get the woman empowerment cause out through music, but I think Alicia nailed it.  Since she was a new face in the entertainment world, I think it was very bold of her to choose to come out with some of the songs she did.  Seeing as how during these times, the type of music she was putting out (which was more so on the gospel/vintage soul side) was not very popular, she ended up having breakthrough performances.  In my opinion, Alicia has attained so many fans because of her didactic ways of educating her listeners.  Not only does she sing on empowerment, but love as well.  She is not afraid to let us know how she feels about love, and tells her listeners it's okay to want to be loved.  As an artist, Alicia Keys shares her experiences with us (the listeners) through her art and this creates a deeper relationship between the two.  I love the fact that she is so passionate when singing about her life experiences and everything she goes through.  By Alicia singing about what she encounters, I, in turn learn from her past experiences and improve myself as a whole.  

Here is one of my favorite songs with Alicia Keys... although she is a feature, I still love it