Grammy winner Alicia Keys says that she went through some personal firestorms that helped forge the emotionally raw and musically adventurous new CD, As I Am, out today on J Records. Over the last year, the singer dealt with exhaustion, depression, the illness of a close relative, and moments when she felt she was losing touch with her creative self. "That and other experiences over the past year left me with music bursting out from me," she told Billboard. "That's when I knew it was time to record."
Keys says she's extremely excited about the sound of As I Am and hopes the audience will be as well. She worked on the project with longtime collaborator Kerry "Crucial" Brothers as well as Floetry's Marsha Ambrosius and songwriter Linda Perry.
"Whether people get me or not, I will still feel great," she said. "I have to do what I feel. But," she added with a laugh, "you do feel extra great when people can get you."
Keys is scheduled to make a November 12th guest appearance on the new CBS family saga Cane, which stars Jimmy Smits.
Her debut single from the set is the R&B singles chart-topping anthem "No One."
Grammy winner Alicia Keys says that she went through some personal firestorms that helped forge the emotionally raw and musically adventurous new CD, As I Am, out today on J Records. Over the last year, the singer dealt with exhaustion, depression, the illness of a close relative, and moments when she felt she was losing touch with her creative self. "That and other experiences over the past year left me with music bursting out from me," she told Billboard. "That's when I knew it was time to record."
