October 2020 - Music

Album of the Month - Alicia Keys 'Alicia'

When Alicia Keys made her debut nearly 20 years ago, the primary engine of her music was musicianship itself — her ability to passionately yet effortlessly elide the distance between classicism and modernity, entwining genres and eras in her playing, singing, and writing. Over the years, as we’ve gotten to know her, the focus has shifted toward her own deeply-felt hopes, frustrations, and desires. She says her seventh album is her most authentic and personal to date, but for many listeners, its openness will be familiar. 

The album’s first song, “Truth Without Love,” is a stormy, lyrically hard-nosed song about the emptiness of any life, love, or art that doesn’t try to connect to a broader, deeper sense of empathy. “Truth without love is just a lie,” she sings. Such a sentiment fits an artist who has always been an approachable star, imbuing her public persona with a casual warmth and laid-back gravitas, whether she’s making records or hosting awards shows.

Alicia is one of her most musically engaging LPs, with production from Mark Ronson, Sampha, Tricky Stewart, and her husband, Swizz Beatz, among other reliable hands. Alicia moves easily between moods and styles, from the disco throwback “Time Machine,” to “Me X 7” (a bit of moody R&B ache with Tierra Whack), to the slinky reggae of “Wasted Energy,” with Tanzanian singer Diamond Platinumz.

Keys’ grounding piano anthems remain her calling card, and she ends the album with a strong one. “Good Job” is a pick-me-up to heroes in disguise, keeping their spirit intact during hard times: “Six in the morning/As soon as you walk through that door/Everyone needs you again”…“All day on your feet/Keep that energy, I know.” It’s an extremely moving moment, an everyday-people anthem delivered with a genuine sense of concern, especially when she adds wisely, “I don’t know if this helps.” Generosity tempered with humility is a rare and welcome look. It takes knowledge of self, care for others, truth through a lens of love, to get it right.