In September 2020 the great Alicia Keys dropped her seventh studio album Alicia, which is now a critically acclaimed success. Personally, I was a little uncomfortable with how under-the-radar this album was… I mean we’re talking about Alicia Keys, when she drops it should be a big deal, so we’re gonna talk about it.
If you know my music taste, you know what I value most in an artist is layers. You just cannot be a one-dimensional artist, and Alicia is far from that. Usually when an artist lacks layers, 9/10 times is because they’re lyric game isn’t strong. Either they aren’t talking about anything at all or they talk about one thing too much. Alicia covers a lot in this album, while making it a great listen with a lot of different sounds. When you make complete, layered records like this, it makes you want to come back and listen again, and Alicia has that.
While there are several different sounds and energies on the project, I would say it’s a lyrically focused record. There are a lot of different perspectives at hand and they cover a wide range. She travels from philosophical, to personal, to sociopolitical. There aren’t a lot of artists than can do that in just one album. There aren’t even two songs that explore the same topic, and it’s a 15 song project, that isn’t easy.
Lyrics
While there are a plethora of topics covered, there’s still a central theme. It seems as if Alicia is exploring her own truths throughout the project, while at the same time learning to love and depend on herself. This is most evident in songs such as, “Me x 7” and “So Done (feat. Khalid)”, but there are more subtle examples as well. Songs like “Wasted Energy” and “Gramercy Park” reminisce on how Alicia tends to spread herself thin. She writes about one-sided relationships and conforming herself to appease her significant other respectively. To be frank, I’m not on expert on her music, so I can’t speak on her progression. However, the content of this album makes me get a sense that she’s reached a position of enlightenment and she’s aware of her self worth. All that considered, it makes that she made it a self-titled album.
Other songs like, “Underdog” “Good Job” and “Perfect Way To Die” explore less about her own self truths and emphasize more everyday struggles other people may have. The former two songs are both very positive and uplifting, giving praise to those in the community who often times may be overlooked. The hook of her “Underdog” states, “I sing a song for the hustlers trading at the bus stop/ Single mothers waiting on a check to come/ Young teachers, student doctors/ Sons on the front lines knowing they don’t get to run.” Music rarely glorifies working members of society labeled as ‘regular people’ and I think it was really dope for Alicia to flip the script. “Perfect Way To Die” isn’t as positive but just as real. The song speaks from a perspective of a mother who just lost her son due to police violence. Writing the song from the angle that she did makes a tragic situation even more hurtful, and releasing the song on Juneteenth in the height of social injustice protests makes a powerful song even more relevant.
Old Head In The Game
Despite being in the game for 20 years Alicia is flawlessly able to keep up with new sounds and keep herself relevant. To put in perspective she has a SEVEN time platinum album that dropped in 2001, TWENTY years ago. R&B has changed a lot from when she first came into the game and to be able to change with it is impressive. This doesn’t mean that she went Pop, she’s just adjusted to a more modern R&B sound (which is Pop influenced). Being talented, having a good understanding of music, and being a great songwriter will do wonders for longevity, if you look at anyone who’s been relevant in the game 10+ years that’s something they all have in common.
Features
Alicia also added some heavy hitting features on the tape. I’m not an artist, so I’m not really sure how features work, but I feel like they can be hit or miss. However, in Alicia I thought all of the features were hits. The combination of her and Miguel was just overwhelmingly good to me, Khalid as well. All of the features put down great performances and boosted the listening experience.
But Yeah…
Overall, I felt that this was a very complete album. You can’t drop a bad self-titled album, and not only was it not bad, but I think it was very personal to her. Usually I do this at the beginning, but if gun to my head, I had to describe the album of the top of my head it’d be: “Powerful”. The lyrics are powerful, her voice is powerful, and the music is powerful. It’s definitely a something for everyone project as long as you like R&B, so give it a listen and let me know what you think. If you’ve read this far you’re a real one.
Favorite Songs
- Truth Without Love
- 3 Hour Drive (feat. Samba)
- Show Me Love (feat. Miguel)
- Perfect Way To Die