Alicia Keys
The Diary Of Alicia Keys

THE REVIEW

Black velvet

It's hard to stay indifferent in the face of the beauty that shines through Alicia Keys' crystalline voice and panther-like eyes. What a stunning creature! After her deservedly award-winning (two Billboard Awards, three Soul Train Awards, two World Music Awards, an Echo Award, five Grammy Awards, and ten million copies sold worldwide) debut album in 2001, SONGS IN A MINOR, the prodigious singer, composer, and pianist hits the mark again with this new THE DIARY OF… (Bmg), especially for those who know how to appreciate its serenity and velvety strength.

THE DIARY OF… might not be the commercial hit that her previous album was, but it is undoubtedly the absolute confirmation of an immeasurable creative caliber in today's African-American music scene. Alicia is a creature of many facets: a singer from a young age, a model student, and an athletic gymnast, the 24-year-old Italian-African has grown like an exotic flower in a rough neighborhood of Harlem. Origins aren't forgotten, and Alicia demonstrates this masterfully: familiar soul-black sounds with modern rhythms—electronic and hip-hop—mixed with reminiscences close to Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Isaac Hayes, and Prince. In this album, we find the synthesis of the last three decades of the black experience, also thanks to the artist's skill on the piano, a powerful common denominator that allows her to range from blues to jazz, from funky to pop.

No special effects, few illustrious guests, no intrusive marketing strategy: Alicia prefers to express her passion for music simply like this, offering her radiant, vibrant voice with sobriety.

Among the fifteen tracks on the list, I mention the evocative Harlem's Nocturne, piano versus hip-hop, the superb If I Was Your Woman/Walk On By, a song in full Motown style, and You Don't Know My Name, the stylish and seductive first single from the album. The magic continues with the romantic If I Ain't Got You and the attractive, intimate, and tormented Diary. Standouts include Dragon Days (listen to the pronounced wah-wah guitar!), the sunny Wake Up, the deep groove of So Simple, and the psychedelic Feeling U, Feeling Me, pushing me to love this artist even more, consistent with her roots and personality, reserved but terribly generous, thoughtful but also sunny, and above all serenely aware.

An important point in Alicia's favor is an understated sensuality expressed musically with discretion and in terms of image with a soft and elegant magnetism, never overbearing or ostentatious, and always tastefully dressed… Nothing more intriguing.

Magnificent.