73 Questions With Alicia Keys | Vogue

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