Artist Close-Up: Alicia Keys Enters The Realm Of Darkened Dance Beats
Alicia Keys has been in the music business for two decades, and has solidified herself through her thoughtful lyrics and beautiful, raspy voice. The sweet smokiness she puts into a song can leave anyone mystified. Literally, her voice is like perfume. Imagine my excitement to know that she is bursting on to the scene and your radio with new music.
This Wednesday Alicia Keys released her newest song “In Common,” which is her first single in four years. It is a new, quicker, sound for the songstress but a welcomed one. She still keeps her smart, insightful lyrics, but adds a hypnotic baseline that could belong to a Drake song. Hearing her smooth voice meld with the tropical rhythms creates a surprising, cool dynamic. You do not exactly think “dance music” when you think of Alicia Keys, but if this is her new “musical” route then it is excitingly unique. Moreover, the theme of the song is a bit of a twist for her. She lyrically contemplates if whether what she has “in common” with her lover is that they are “messed up.” Keys is usually known for her empowering lyrics or ones about forbidden love and trying to make it work. When asked what inspired the track Keys claimed, “We all have our issues, our challenges. We are all kind of messed up and that’s all right. In fact, that’s what helps us understand each other. To me, that’s is what is so beautiful.” The song may be an “edgier” Alicia Keys, but the amount of wisdom she puts behind it remains classically the same.
“In Common,” definitely, proposes what is already known about Keys; she is a consistently fresh and growing artist. It is the first single off her new summer album, and one that builds immediate anticipation for it. The song is an excitingly unique addition to her repertoire, but remains true to her musical mission: to observe the rawness of humanity and femininity. This Saturday she will debut the song, for the fist time, on Saturday Night Live. To hear and see Alicia Keys do a “dance” song live will be endearing towards her fans that know her fierce talent is too vast to be boxed. I know that after this performance and this week, “In Common” will be tethered to the charts and the dancefloor.
Here is her official website. Here is the website for her new song, “In Common.” Enjoy!
