Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards including 14 Grammy awards and has sold over 75 million records worldwide. Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time. In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Keys released her first studio album, Songs in A Minor, in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 236,000 copies in its first week. The album sold over 6.2 million copies in the United States, where it was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It went on to sell over 13 million copies worldwide, establishing Keys' popularity both inside and outside the United States, where she became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album's lead single, Fallin', spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's second single, A Woman's Worth, peaked at number three on the same chart. The following year, the album was reissued as Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor, which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.
Songs in A Minor led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song for Fallin', Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album; Fallin' was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards. That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album Stripped on a song entitled Impossible, which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals. During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series Charmed and American Dreams.
Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003. It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA. It sold nine million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B artist. The singles You Don't Know My Name and If I Ain't Got You both reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the third single, Diary, entered the top ten. The fourth single, Karma, was less successful on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 20. If I Ain't Got You became the first single by a female artist to remain on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year.
Keys won Best R&B Video for If I Ain't Got You at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and Higher Ground with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder. Later that year, Keys released her novel Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water." She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question". The book sold over US$500,000 and Keys made The New York Times bestseller list in 2005. The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video Karma. Keys performed If I Ain't Got You and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of Georgia on My Mind, the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards. That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for If I Ain't Got You, Best R&B Song for You Don't Know My Name, Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for My Boo with Usher.
Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers. The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled Unplugged, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release. The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide. The debut of Keys' Unplugged was the highest for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one. The album's first single, Unbreakable, peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It remained at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay for 11 weeks.
Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.
In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for Unbreakable. She also received the Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang an original song, Almost Everything Is Boinga Here. That same year, Keys nearly suffered a mental breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."
Keys released her third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist. The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album Feels like Home in 2004. The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA. It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two. The album's lead single, No One, peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively. The album's second single, Like You'll Never See Me Again, was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's third single, Teenage Love Affair, peaked at number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She released the fourth single, Superwoman, which peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
No One earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song Learnin' the Blues as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and No One with John Mayer later in the show. Keys also won Best Female R&B Artist during the show. Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded the theme song to Quantum of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Superwoman.
In an interview with Blender magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing". Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted. Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.
Keys collaborated with record producer Swizz Beatz to write and produce Million Dollar Bill for Whitney Houston's seventh studio album, I Look to You. Keys had approached Clive Davis for permission to submit a song for the album. Keys also collaborated with recording artist Jay-Z on the song Empire State of Mind from his 2009 album, The Blueprint 3. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became her fourth number-one single on that chart.
The following month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones". She collaborated with Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz for Looking for Paradise, which topped the Hot Latin Songs chart. Keys released her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. As part of the promotional drive for the album, she performed at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). The album's lead single, Doesn't Mean Anything, has peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. Keys was ranked as the top R&B recording artist of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine and ranked at number five as artist of the decade, while her song, No One, was ranked at number six on the magazine's songs of the decade. In the United Kingdom, The Element of Freedom became Keys' first album to top the UK Albums Chart.
According to Songfacts, Keys said regarding the title of her fifth studio album, Girl On Fire. "Before making this record, in some ways I felt like a lion locked in a cage. I felt like a girl misunderstood that no one really knew, I felt like it was time to stop making excuses for any part of my life that I wanted to change. Once I made that choice I became a Girl on Fire, the lion broke free!!" The title track will be made available on iTunes and radio on September 4, 2012.
In May 2009, Swizz Beatz announced that he and Keys were romantically involved, and in May 2010, a representative for Keys and Swizz Beatz confirmed that they were engaged and expecting a child together. During the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the couple took part of a union and had the unborn child blessed in a Zulu ceremony, which took place in the Illovo suburb of South Africa. Keys and Swizz Beatz were married on the French island of Corsica on July 31, 2010. On October 14, 2010, Keys gave birth to a son, Egypt Daoud Ibarr Dean, in New York City.
1997
New York
Alicia Keys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey yo black it's time again, yeah, yeah (New York, New York)
Come here, yeah, yeah (New York, New York)
Hey yo black it's time
If you knew my streets
You would know all everybody talk about is who got beef
Who snitchin', who told police
Now they killin' over music money, not drugs, rap replaced it
Because thugs with no brains got no patience
New jacks I pistol whip 'em with the funky rhythm I be kickin'
Musician and flatten composition
A pain, I'm like Saddam Hussein
Still alive lookin' at his dead children's burnt remains
I burnt the game, learnt you lames a new lesson
Your crew's soft man, ya'll need some new weapons
The P's breathe Warriorz and skullies and Timmies
Around mixed, spics, niggaz and giddies
From my ghetto kings in deep thought we don't blink
But don't think we wastin' our time
It's a New York State of Mind
New York, New York, New York
New York City, whoa oh
New York, New York, New York
New York City, baby
It's like a jungle, out here
So much struggle, out here
And my dream's still unphased
Greed still the cousin of death
Always feels like always somethin' farther time
In the Streets of New York
All I see is street homes
And who it's holdin', our people
Only comforts the brain
It's like I'm going insane
The revolution has to start, don't waste no time
In the Streets of New York (New York state of mind)
C'mon
New York, New York, New York, New York oh
State of mind (New York City)
New York, New York, New York, New York oh
State of crime (New York City)
New York, New York, New York, New York oh
Big dreams (New York City)
New York, New York, New York, New York oh
Big schemes
Oh, it's like the game
Just ain't the same
Baby loves and girls with no shame
Can't get away (get away), epidemic plague
Every hood in every state
Don't have no reasons 'cause relief is hard to find
In the streets of New York (New York state of mind)
In the streets of New York (New York state of mind)
In the streets of New York (New York state of mind)
In the streets of New York (New York state of mind)
I'm from the home of a million legends and trend settin'
A lot of footsteps to follow, I've been steppin'
Mind stressin' tryin' to find a record crime shreddin'
Time precious, I ain't have rest since nine eleven
I live fast, hustle like today is my last
I get cash, the struggle's like a day on the Ave.
Crack bein' raw, gats squeezin' off
Manhattan squeezin' off, from cats who tease with war
The eve of the Apocalypse, evil keep movin' politics
Every block is at risk, the metropolitan metropolis
The opposite of Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra
Alicia Keys, Nas and Ra the gangsta's opera
So New York City walk with me, talk gritty
It's up to us New York it's our city
Here the man come with the anthem, hands up
It's time the thrill is back New York, let's stand up
New York, New York, New York
New York City, whoa oh
New York, New York, New York
New York City, baby
New York, New York, New York
New York City, whoa oh
New York, New York, New York
New York City, baby
The lyrics to "New York" by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z are a powerful ode to the city that never sleeps. The song's opening lines, "Nasty, yeah yeah (New York, New York)/Hey yo black it's time again, yeah yeah (New York, New York)" are a call to arms, urging listeners to pay attention to what's happening in the streets of the city. The following lines paint a picture of the gritty underbelly of New York, where everyone is talking about who has beef and who is snitching.
The chorus, repeating "New York, New York, New York, New York," reinforces the idea of the city's unrelenting pace and energy. The verses touch on themes of violence, crime, and poverty, and the chorus serves as a kind of rallying cry for those who live and work in the city. The song ends with a call to action: "Here the man come with the anthem, hands up/It's time the thrill is back New York, let's stand up."
Overall, the lyrics to "New York" are a powerful statement about what it means to live in one of the world's greatest cities. They capture the energy, chaos, and beauty of New York in a way that few other songs have.
Line by Line Meaning
Nasty, yeah, yeah (New York, New York)
New York is a harsh and gritty place where everyone fights to survive
Hey yo black it's time again, yeah, yeah (New York, New York)
It's time to talk about the struggles and challenges of life in New York
Come here, yeah, yeah (New York, New York)
Come close and listen to the stories and truths about New York
Hey yo black it's time
It's time for black people to speak up and share their experiences in New York
If you knew my streets
If you knew the streets of New York like I do
You would know all everybody talk about is who got beef
All people talk about in New York is who is feuding with who
Who snitchin', who told police
People in New York are always wondering who is betraying their community and telling the police information
Who came home, who still gone, who restin' in peace
People in New York are always wondering who has come back from prison, who has gone away, and who has died
Now they killin' over music money, not drugs, rap replaced it
People in New York are now killing over music profits instead of drug profits
Because thugs with no brains got no patience
This is because unintelligent people who are criminals don't have the patience to wait for success
New jacks I pistol whip 'em with the funky rhythm I be kickin'
I violently punish new criminals with the music I create
Musician and flatten composition
My music has an intense and violent sound to it
A pain, I'm like Saddam Hussein
I am a painful force, like the dictator Saddam Hussein
Still alive lookin' at his dead children's burnt remains
I too am still alive, but I have been crushed by the devastation and destruction I see around me
I burnt the game, learnt you lames a new lesson
I revolutionized the criminal world in New York and taught my opponents a lesson
Your crew's soft man, ya'll need some new weapons
Your gang is weak, you need to find a new way to fight and defend yourselves
The P's breathe Warriorz and skullies and Timmies
People in New York wear tough and rugged attire, such as skullies and Timmies
Around mixed, spics, niggaz and giddies
People of different races and ethnicities live and interact with each other in New York
From my ghetto kings in deep thought we don't blink
People who come from harsh and poverty-stricken neighborhoods are always thinking deeply about their lives and struggle
But don't think we wastin' our time
People in New York are always doing something productive, even if it isn't obvious at first glance
It's a New York State of Mind
This is what it's like to live in New York and be part of its culture
It's like a jungle, out here
Living in New York is like being in a dangerous and unpredictable jungle
So much struggle, out here
People in New York face constant struggle and hardship
And my dream's still unphased
Despite all the struggle and hardship, I am still determined to achieve my dreams
Greed still the cousin of death
The desire for wealth and success can lead to destructive consequences
Always feels like always somethin' farther time
There is always something happening in New York, and time seems to move quickly
In the Streets of New York
The realities of New York are best understood by exploring its streets
All I see is street homes
Everywhere I look, I see the homes and buildings of New York's streets
And who it's holdin', our people
These buildings are filled with New York's residents, who are all struggling to survive
Only comforts the brain
All we have to keep us going is our thoughts and memories
It's like I'm going insane
The constant hardship and struggle makes it feel like I am losing my mind
The revolution has to start, don't waste no time
We need to start a revolution in New York, and we need to do it now
State of crime (New York City)
Crime is a major issue in New York City
Big dreams (New York City)
Despite the challenges, people in New York are still holding onto big dreams for their future
Big schemes
People in New York are always thinking about big ideas and plans for their future
Oh, it's like the game
Living in New York is like being part of a dangerous and unpredictable game
Just ain't the same
Things have changed, and life in New York has become even more difficult
Can't get away (get away), epidemic plague
There is no escaping the widespread problem that is affecting New York
Every hood in every state
This problem is affecting everyone in every neighborhood in New York
Don't have no reasons 'cause relief is hard to find
People don't have a reason to be optimistic or hopeful because things are so difficult in New York
I'm from the home of a million legends and trend settin'
New York City is a place where many famous people and cultural trends have emerged
A lot of footsteps to follow, I've been steppin'
There are many successful people in New York to look up to, and I am trying to follow in their footsteps
Mind stressin' tryin' to find a record crime shreddin'
I am always stressing and trying to find ways to fight back against the rampant crime in New York
Time precious, I ain't have rest since nine eleven
I am always busy and do not have time to rest because of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
I live fast, hustle like today is my last
I am constantly working hard and trying to succeed because I don't know what the future holds
I get cash, the struggle's like a day on the Ave.
I make money, but the struggle and hardship of New York never goes away
Crack bein' raw, gats squeezin' off
The drug trade and violence are serious problems in New York
Manhattan squeezin' off, from cats who tease with war
People in Manhattan are always resorting to violence and warfare to prove their power
The eve of the Apocalypse, evil keep movin' politics
There is a sense of impending doom in New York due to the corrupt and evil politics that rule the city
Every block is at risk, the metropolitan metropolis
No neighborhood in New York is safe, and the city continues to grow and evolve
The opposite of Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra
New York is the opposite of glamorous and sophisticated performers like Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra
Alicia Keys, Nas and Ra the gangsta's opera
The music of Alicia Keys, Nas, and Ra tells the stories of New York's gangsters and criminals
So New York City walk with me, talk gritty
Come walk with me through the streets of New York and see the harsh realities of life here
It's up to us New York it's our city
We need to take responsibility for our city and work to make it a better place
Here the man come with the anthem, hands up
I am here with a song that represents New York, so raise your hands in support
It's time the thrill is back New York, let's stand up
It's time to bring back the excitement and positivity of New York, so let's rise up and take action
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: ALICIA AUGELLO-COOK, ALICIA J AUGELLO-COOK, ERIC BARRIER, WILLIAM GRIFFIN, NASIR JONES, CHRISTOPHER E MARTIN, TANEISHA SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@theharshtruthoutthere
@@susanarsoniadou To every soul OUT THERE:
All prayers from Righteous SOULS aka Born again Christians, have power. Sinners prayers GOD hears not. Unless we REPENT and born again and LIVE HOLY, GOD hears none of our prayers. Prayers have power, but these must come from Changed hearts.
Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Psalms 119:155 “Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.”
(Many souls(unsaved souls), believe falsely and pray in vain).
Mankind is filled with UNSAVED SOULS (WICKED SINNERS).
That`s why there`s a calling to REPENTANCE and to BORN AGAIN:
Luke 5:32
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
John 3:7
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
@kingbeef396
This song makes me feel like anything is possible.
@lyr1c180
In New York☝️
@sheepdavis
It's not
@nicholedoten6506
Less chance of 86n in the land of opportunity
@extrm161
https://youtu.be/o1D2q_YAxwQ
Only for real hip hop head's 👆
@nievescamacholara2549
@@palabrasb otsrwei nuevo yo ok
@wx_av3937
Whos listening in 2024 ?? 😂🗣️
@Your_fav_vr_guy
Me
@eddiesguitar7831
heyyy
@user-ds7rd8yq7d
Me