Alicia Keys has just ended her four-year hiatus and promises new music and performances, according to People Magazine . The “Girl on Fire” singer came on the stage of BET Network’s Upfront in New York City to re-introduce her voice to the audience, who hadn’t heard it for over four years.
Upfront News and Views: BET and Alicia Keys Bring Down the House https://t.co/z1fJ0LSyzq pic.twitter.com/HO7Y3Yr0bz
— MediaVillage (@MediaVillageCom) April 28, 2016
Taking the stage at Jazz at Lincoln Center recently, Alicia Keys admitted to the audience that she felt like she was performing in front of her family in her own living room. Keys opened her performance with the cover of Prince’s song “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore.”
Amazingly, at the time of Alicia Keys’ performance, Prince was still alive. The death of Prince came just one day after her performance. It appears that the 35-year-old singer knew her fellow singer and friend was already in a bad condition at the time.
After her cover of Prince’s hit, Alicia Keys debuted her new ballad “Hallelujah,” which will be featured on her upcoming album. It’s currently unclear when the singer is planning to release the album.
Alicia Keys first announced the news about ending her four-year hiatus on Snapchat last month. She revealed that she has new music to share with her fans and that she would be performing “in the next couple of weeks.”
She has since released a teaser on Twitter.
You ready?! I’m ready! New music… #InCommon ???????? https://t.co/pJAChQnHyo https://t.co/Xat2npPmAl
— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) May 4, 2016
Alicia Keys announced she will perform on Saturday Night Live in her native New York City on May 7. Then, in June, the “Fallin’” singer will perform at the 2016 BET Awards in Los Angeles. And that’s not all that awaits Keys this year. The singer will also be coaching on the next season of The Voice .
Alicia Keys has two sons, Egypt Dean, 5 and Genisis, 13 months, with husband Swizz Beatz, and it seems that Egypt is already manifesting his musical talents, according to NME . The 5-year-old son of the hip-hop producer and the R&B singer has been helping out Q-Tip to produce his upcoming album .
Son of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz in the Studio with Q-Tip https://t.co/hY9u8DUwf5 @aliciakeys @therealswizzz pic.twitter.com/t6o1UjNlFk
— EverythingGirlsLove (@EverythingGL) April 20, 2016
In a video shared by Swizz Beatz via Instagram, Egypt is seen using a drum pad, while Q-Tip is heard singing in the background. And Q-Tip has nothing to worry about, as the son of Alicia Keys surely has lots of musical blood running through his veins; his dad previously worked with such stars as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and DMX.
In fact, that’s not the first time Alicia Keys has let her son play in the production studio. Egypt helped his father work on Kendrick Lamar’s recent Untitled Unmastered album. And Swizz Beatz was really proud of both himself and his son.
“This is the best Dad moment everrrrr!!! Congrats to my son Egypt for producing his 1st track on this amazing Kendrick.”
Q-Tip is currently busy working on his upcoming studio album titled The Last Zulu , the hip-hop legend’s first album since 2008’s The Renaissance .
U.S. President Barack Obama invited Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Common, Pusha T, and many others to take part in the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, as reported by Essence .
White House reps explained that all the invited artists, including Alicia Keys, have either supported social justice movements or have contributed to non-profit organizations that comply with the aims of the My Brother’s Keeper initiative.
A White House official said many of the invited artists have provided their voices and platforms to promoting the issues in line with the initiative.
“Through their own nonprofit work or artistic commitment, many of these artists have found ways to engage on the issues of criminal justice reform and empowering disadvantaged young people across the country.”
[Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]