Alicia Keys has released her soulful new album Here on Spotify and iTunes today (Nov. 4), and it is a deeply introspective and personal work. Ranging from punchy hip-hop tunes to acoustic soul ballads, the 16-track album also features spoken word poetry and recorded conversations between The Voice coach and her famous collaborators on the album.
Second track “The Gospel” is especially powerful, with her soaring vocals about incessant rhyming. She then transitions back to straight R&B on “Pawn it All,” a song about rising above the constant struggle. Acoustic ballad “Kill Your Mama,” is more stripped down, but with no less of an impact. It brings to mind reggae legend Bob Marley as Keys sings passionately about the love between mother and child.
The singer even gets into straight gritty blues on “Illusion of Bliss,” and croons about searching for love in an unforgiving world on “She Don’t Really Care 1 Luv,” about a girl who knows she’s a Queen.
Most fans of Keys have already heard “Blended Family (What You Do For Love)” with collaborator A$AP Rocky, but there are other surprises in store on Here. These include the simple but intense track “Work On It,” dancehall flavored “Girl Can’t Be Herself” and high energy “More Than We Know” amongst others.
Keys celebrated the release of her album this past Thursday night (Nov. 3) with a BET broadcast of her show at Times Square back in October according to Billboard. Jay Z, Q-Tip, Nas, Questlove and John Mayer had joined her onstage during that performance. Here is available for streaming on either Spotify or iTunes.
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