By Michael A. Gonzales

It’s so easy to hate Alicia Keys. Besides being fine as crystal, the sister knows how to construct soulful pop songs with the flair of Stevie Wonder and the pop sensibility of Burt Bacharach. Yet, even with three best-selling albums, a truck full of awards (five Grammys in 2002 alone) and songcraft for days. Even if you give her a pass for those frequent Prince swipes (click these links to weigh the evidence and draw your own conclusions), there are still folks who believe Alicia Keys is an R&B poser.

In 2007, when Keys’ last joint All I Am dropped, my spiritual godfather Greg Tate wrote an inspired review called “Extensions of a Woman,” wherein he praised her for being damn-near a genius. Some of the villagers got a little rowdy, and like a scene out of Frankenstein complete with pitchforks and torches, one angry voice berated the singer/songwriter/producer by calling her “dumbed-down, mainstream, and utterly irrelevant as they come.”

While folks are entitled to their opinions, no matter how wrong they might be, I have been impressed with Alicia’s growth as an artist since first meeting her in the J Records conference room in the spring of 2001. Even then there were a few folks mumbling that the shy twenty-year-old who was about to release her debut Songs in A Minor, was only special because idol maker Clive Davis had said so. The chorus of haters has only grown louder with the news that Alicia was tapped to co-write and co-produce (with her new man, Swizz Beatz) “Million Dollar Bill,” the first single from Clive Davis’s next big project: Whitney Houston’s long-awaited comeback album I Look To You.

Say what they may, but from Santana to Janis Joplin, Sly Stone to Bad Boy Records, if Clive says it’s a winner then my metaphorical money is riding with his. While the old man’s own legend status can kick open doors like American Idol and the Oprah Winfrey Show, only real talent can keep him from closing the door on even the prettiest face. And guess what? “Million Dollar Bill” is a good record. Haven’t heard Whitney sounding this lively in a while.

And apparently, even the woman who sang “Superwoman” needs an idol to look up to. For Alicia, working with Whitney is something of a dream come true. This from a woman who’s going to supply guest vocals on “Empire State of Mind” from Jay-Z’s upcoming Blueprint 3.

Below is a conversation that Alicia Keys and I had a few years ago while we were backstage at 106 & Park. Like Keys’ music, her quotes are ethereal yet effective.

Michael A. Gonzales: What does it mean to be a soul singer?

Alicia Keys: That term is special to me. Soul singing is everything: it’s hip-hop, rock, the blues. Anything that you truly reach down inside yourself and speak from the soul. Like there is a voice inside of you that wrote the lyrics, arranged the music, and made another person feel whatever emotion you’re expressing. Made you feel it deeply. That’s what soul singing is.

What soul artists have made you cry or feel chills?

Stevie Wonder. He does these runs that sound like he was taking it from the heavens and bringing it back—and he didn’t even take a breath. Nina Simone had a passion in her and the subjects she talked about. It was the lilt in her voice that made you want to cry.

I have a friend who tells me that Nina’s voice scares him.

That’s how serious she was; Nina was so serious she could be freighting. Sometimes when people are too real it can be a little scary. You’re telling so much of the truth, but some people don’t want to think about it.

Who among your contemporaries do you consider real soul?

I love Jill Scott. I really feel that she’s a very honest person. I feel her purity. That’s the other thing about soul music—just the pure emotion of it coming through people like India.Arie, Erykah Badu and others who follow their own path.

What are some thoughts you have when it’s time to sit down and write a new song?

I think what’s going on in my heart is what is going on in the world. The only way I know how to write is in a personal fashion. I don’t know how to graze the surface of a subject and kind of talk about it. The only way I can write is when I dig into what I’ve been through. And the world I live in is very real.

Have you dealt with much sexism in the industry?

There are plenty of times I’ve been in the studio, maybe mixing a record I just finished doing. It’ll be a record I produced, but if my homeboy is with me, the engineer would just assume he produced it. It doesn’t matter who I am, if there’s a man in the room they just assume he’s in charge.

What bothers you about the current state R&B?

I’m bothered by this garbage thing that artists have to be young to succeed. That is the bullshit game to pull the wool over our eyes. When we get older, we should be wiser and better at our craft. We see things in a different light and the music changes for the better hopefully. These days, the industry is ready to dismiss you at thirty. Give me a break.

If you look at genres like jazz or country, many of the greatest are over forty.

They experienced life in its bitterness and sweetness. They have things to talk about and discuss. That’s why when people ask about the pressure of making a new album…I don’t believe in that stuff. I feel like all of those things are a mind game to beat you down and I refuse to play that game.

I suppose it’s all about growth.

And the things I learn as I grow. I’m going to know my voice, my music and myself. It’s only going to get iller, there’s no way its going to go backwards. I’m only going to get better.

Alicia Keys . Burt Bacharach . Clive Davis . Erykah Badu . Grammy . Greg Tate . India Arie . Jill Scott . Nina Simone . Prince . R&B . Soul . Stevie Wonder . Swizz Beatz . Whitney Houston Soul News