Alicia Keys recently revealed on her website that the passing of R&B princess Aaliyah inspired the profound content for ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ from her 2003 album The Diary Of Alicia Keys. It’s not hard to conclude that true passion was involved in the development of the song as this love ballad was one of the most powerful and influential songs in her career to date. “The song idea came together right after Aaliyah passed away. It was such a sad time and no one wanted to believe it. It just made everything crystal clear to me—what matters, and what doesn’t.” She goes on to say “I remember writing the beginnings of it on a flight somewhere and then finished it in the hotel once I got where we were going,” she added. “It came quickly and I was so moved to write it and it doesn’t matter how many times I sing it, I love it with the same intensity as when I first wrote and recorded it.”
Not only did Alicia Keys celebrate the life the fallen R&B Princess through her own music, the Grammy Award winning artist also currently celebrates the 10 year anniversary for her debut album, ‘Songs in A Minor.’ Keys is releasing an accompanying documentary, giving fans an inside look into her creative process. She dropped a snippet of the documentary in which she and industry insiders like her longtime producing partner Kerry “Krucial” Brothers and J Records label head Clive Davis, break down how the iconic album came about. “‘Songs in A Minor’ ended up being recorded in a bedroom,” Keys recalls. “They assumed that because I was a girl, I didn’t know what I wanted.” It was only a matter of time before she showed the world that her heart was made of pure ivory and that her soul swayed to the beat of a rhythm and blues drum as ‘Songs in A Minor’ went on to sell 6 million copies in the U.S. The album ultimately transformed the success of her career debut into five Grammy’s which matched the record total to that of musical prodigy Lauryn Hill who was the first female artist ever to win five Grammy awards in one night.
Get a first-hand, inside sneak peek view of the interesting documentary right here on rollingout.com
