Alicia Keys on Lost J.Cole Songs, Swizz Beatz Surviving The Ick & Her Legacy ｜360 with Speedy Morman

For Complex News, it's 360 with Speedy Mormon. I'm him and we've got a special guest in the building. She is a legend, an icon, and the number one certified female R&B artist of the millennium. And that's a quote. That is a quote. Alicia Keys is in the building. Thank you. Alicia, how are you? I'm amazing. How are you doing? I'm great. We're so not only happy, but we're also honored to be in the presence of the number one. I want to get it right. The number one certified female R&B artist of the millennium. I actually had to look up millennium. Thousand. Just like really, truly 100% make sure. Right. Did you have to look it up too? No, I knew what the millennium meant, but to have that type of honor under your belt is... That's why I had to look it up. I said, no, what? So it's pretty major. How does that feel when you hear something like that? Crazy. Pretty crazy. I don't even exactly know what to do with it, but I definitely earned it, I feel. And I'm going to keep earning it and keep giving my good energy just doing that thing. So I love it. You better than me. I'd be around walking around, how are you doing? I'm the number one certified of the millennium, just saying. Just FYI. Did you know? I just want everybody to know. I'll be doing that. So you better than me. You wouldn't. Probably not. But maybe one good time just to get it off my chest and then... Right. One good time. Like, well, guys. Guys. You are speaking too. Everybody know. Just want to make sure y'all know. I am who you think I am. That's what I would say. No, but, you know, from your very first record, I'm All Alone, to now. Oh my gosh. Okay, you, there you go. Yeah. He's coming with it. Yeah. Go with it. I have to be like, now he's wrong. What record is that? But you are right. I am right. From your first record to now. Not only the number one certified, but your eighth studio album, Keys, coming December 10th. Yes. A double album at that. Yes. What's the deal? Talk us through it. Oh, man. I love it so much. You know, Keys is really obviously my foundation. You know, the Keys have always been a part of how I express, how I play, and how people relate to me, you know, through music. And so in a lot of ways, it's a homecoming. So Keys is two albums. One's called The Originals. The Originals is all broken down keys, blues, jazz, songs. And then the other side, my brother Mike Will and I sampled The Originals, created the Unlocked version, so it has a whole different perspective, and it creates a whole other energy. And all together, it's called Keys. It's kind of like a Sunday and a Saturday. The best of both worlds. The best. The best of the whole weekend. The whole weekend. And you get... I don't want to give away too much, but I've heard bits and pieces. I heard a Beanie Sigel sample. That's true. A very iconic Beanie Sigel sample at that. So when one like myself looks at a track list so eclectic like that, with Nat King Cole and Lil Wayne on it, and you hear a Beanie Sigel sample, what can people expect when they see that? I don't think you should ever expect anything. I think you should unexpect everything. I love that. You know, I love that part about it. But I think it's actually really clear. It's really clear because I feel like people do love the piano side of me, and they really love hearing songs, and they love hearing copyrights and classic, timeless material. And for me, growing up, born and raised in New York, I always have a duality, different sides in me. So I can never express myself in just one style. Nobody can. That's not even realistic. So I think that the other side of it allows me to go a little more crazy, put a little more Lowry seasoning salt in the mix, and create just like this gumbo that really fulfills all the senses. Yeah. And that's what you can expect. Damn. To be fulfilled. Well fed. That was so poetic. And the well-fed pun with the seasoning. Did you like that? That was beautiful. You good at this for real. I want to go back in time for a minute, but the latest thing that people have seen that they loved from you was you and Swizz's home. Architectural Digest did a video, and the home was beautiful. Thank you. But if I was to rewind back to years and years and years ago to 11L. Okay, talk to me. Would 11L Alicia have believed that this is where she would be? Hell no. If that's the question, hell no. 11L Alicia, never. 11L Alicia had no idea. 11L Alicia was like not even imagining that any of anything. That the first time I sang on the Oprah show, 11L Alicia was like, what the hell are you doing here? The first time I made it to the Grammys, 11L Alicia was like, you in the wrong place, you made the wrong turn. The first time that I accepted a big award, she was like, don't step up them stairs, you're gonna play yourself. 11L Alicia never imagined any of this. Now in a certain way, you were kind of forced to grow up fast because you kind of fell into success very quickly. Not quickly, but very early rather. And so I wonder if you ever imagined what a normal adolescence would have looked like for Alicia if Alicia had never become Alicia Keys. If you would have just still been Alicia Orgello Cook. There you go. Come on, know her of me. Sometimes I used to feel like I missed it or like I didn't really get to just have those, you know, just really awesome experiences. I did go to my prom though. That was a good one. Sometimes when I used to call my aunt and I would be on some city or whatever and she'd be like, oh, I'm just picking up little David and we're going to get pizza and then we're going to come back home and do this homework. And I used to feel like intense jealousy, like a crazy feeling of jealousy of just that like beautiful, like peace, you know. But if I wasn't, if I wasn't me, I feel like I would be either a teacher. OK. Or an anthropologist. Oh, OK. A teacher or an anthropologist. I can see both of those. Can you? Yeah. Again, we just met, but I feel like I can feel like you know me. Yeah. I think that, though, and you make a good point, there is like this beauty to like simplicity and for people who have this life that is just kind of like what we would call normal for someone who has been famous and wealthy for so long. And I imagine there are moments that you kind of remember that you used to be able to have that you just can't anymore. No, I have all those moments now. I think at that particular time, I wasn't familiar with how to create boundaries and I didn't know how to make sure that I had a balance. You know what I mean? Because I just felt like, you know, there's a there's a part of all of us that I think we feel like we have to chase what's possible because it might never it might become impossible. Like if you have a chance, you better chase it while you can. And I think that's a backward mentality, actually, because I do believe that it's a it's you know, it's a it's a hustler's mentality. It's a New York mentality. It's a American mentality. But I think that there is also something really strong about knowing that there is a destiny for you and you are going to uncover it. Like there's a certain teaching and a confidence that comes with that that I don't think we get taught. So we feel like we got to rat race ourselves to death and most of us do. So that was the current place I was in at that time, the rat race to death. And that's why I did long for simplicity, because I wasn't allowing myself to have that. Now in my life. Oh, trust me. We go get pizza. We go bowling. So Alicia Keys does normal people things. Chill. I was just in the community center just just the other day in Atlanta. We were in this fresh spot. It had the the bouncy house, it had the air hockey, it had the bowling. The kids were going crazy. I was going crazy. I was in that bouncy house going crazy. Yes. Find me. Find me where you find you, because that's that's me. And so there's this, I think maybe false image that a lot of people have of Alicia, you know, that is like this super polished, always spiritual, kind of like always positive, always happy person who's just so out of reach because she's the superstar. And that seemingly is not the case. But you know me. You Googled me. Yeah. I feel like, you know, stuff like that you can't get from Google, you know, no. You feel truthfully, honestly, honestly, honestly, from like you seeing me throughout our lives and you feel like that. Is that how I present to you? Not to me personally, but I think I think it would be a fair assumption to say to the masses. OK. Alicia Keys is this superstar that is just always positive because every time we see you, you're meditating, you're with your kids, you know, you're like talking about a balanced diet, you know, all of these really wholesome things. And so I feel like to a lot of people, they think that's the image that they may have of you. No, I feel that. And that is a that is a major part of what I've learned is healthy, you know, and does help me and does help people, you know what I mean? But I feel you and I hear you. So you think I should like lose my ---- a little bit more for you? I think everybody's good for everybody. Got one. One. Like everybody's allowed one good one. And yours hasn't come yet. So whenever that moment happens, I will be watching gladly from the raft. You know, OK, you're good. But you know, it could be like a paparazzi or something like that. Right. Just go because they you know, the thing was, they overstepped their bounds. If it has happened, then you just you just wasn't there. OK. But it's good. All right. But it's OK. And I understand. I do understand what you mean. And I like that, actually. I like that. There's like a certain you know, I think people like people love us to just be out of mind and lose that ----. I can't wait. Yeah. Highest views ever. Right. Because we love the drama. You know what I mean? Yeah. But it is what it is. It is what it is. I feel like I already know the answer to this question. You know me. No, but I know what the answer is to this question. I just need to hear your answer to it. Does Alicia Keys believe in soulmates? Yep. And how do you know? Maybe I call them kindred spirits. OK. What what is a kindred spirit? And how do you know when you found one? I think, you know, when you really relate to someone because it's easy. Now, that doesn't mean it's not hard. It just means that it's fluid. It flows. You don't have to work extra at it. You don't have to, like, fight so much every second. You don't have to, like, over explain everything because they don't really get you. You don't have to, you know, go back and apologize a bunch of times because you whatever. I feel like there's a there's a certain ease to the flow when you're really compatible with somebody. And I think that that's one layer. As you continue to go deeper, you will find that there's a very few, maybe one if you're lucky, that would connect so deeply with your soul that you recognize them on a soul level. And it's not just it's not just this plane. It's like a whole other area. And then you like, nah, I see that person and you kind of feel like, you know, them for lifetimes. And you will. And is that the dynamic that you have now with you and Swizz? A hundred million, billion percent. Yeah, no, it's just natural. It's natural. It's fluid. We understand each other. We don't have to over explain. It's not a bunch of arguing. It's not a bunch of yelling. It's not a bunch of beefing. It's not a bunch of complaining to my homegirls, complaining to his homeboys. It's not a bunch of drama. And I think that's the thing. It's like, leave the drama. And I mean, if you could do that in depth, I think that actually means you chose yourself, which is not a bad thing. Because once you choose yourself, then you can find these type of compatible relationships that are like taking you to another place, not like bringing you all the way down there. Yeah. Now, there's this phrase that I just learned it and they call it the ick. But essentially the ick is when romantically someone gets you to a point where you're turned off beyond belief. And it's like, generally speaking, it's they say it's to the point of no return. You know, they just turn you off and you're just done. And it seemed like Swiss had gotten to that place with you. But it seems like he did the unthinkable because he turned what was the ick into now what you're calling your kindred spirit. How on God's green earth did this man turn the tide and overcome the ick in you to now have you speak this highly of him? I gotta give it to you. He did. I was definitely, he was on my ick. That's how I say it. Yeah. He gave you the ick. He definitely gave me the ick. I wasn't, I wasn't with it. Like he just, he just wasn't my vibe. Like he's pretty loud. He's pretty over the top. He loves a lot of attention. Everywhere is like a bunch of people. The brightest colors, the longest chains, the biggest cars, the whole thing. He can write music in 10 minutes. The whole I can write music in 10 minutes, like the show walk ----, all of that. I was just like, ugh, ick, no, it's not even it. That's not even my vibe. But what I realized was I actually didn't know him. And I think a lot of times we're judging people by what, who we think they are. We kind of just talked about this, like, you know, people from what they share or from what gets covered by what they share because a lot of times the things that I share won't even get covered. So anyway, once I got to know who he actually was, I recognized that I was judging him on someone that I thought he was, not who he actually is. And that's how the ick tide changed. Got it. Now that gives men across the globe hope to know that there is a chance to actually get rid of it, because it has always been a thing that was impossible to overcome. I mean, I think that that does reach a place where you are beyond any point of a return. But I do believe that I do believe that if and again, sometimes it's just not for you. So don't extra over try when it's not for you probably should just head out. But I think if a person recognizes that they haven't known you actually, then maybe there is a chance. I like that. So wait, do you believe in soulmates? I do. Yeah, I do. And I personally don't feel like there's only one. I think you could have more than one. And I don't think all soulmates are just romantic. Correct. I think you can have a soulmate that is a friend or somebody that becomes your family. Yeah, my grandmother's my soulmate too. That's interesting that you feel like someone that is your family member can also be a soulmate. A million percent. Like I know every lifetime I live, I'm going to know my grandmother. I don't know what relationship we're going to have, but I know that we're soulmates. And that might maybe just help me come to terms with losing her. But there's something that I had to also make sure that I didn't lose her forever, you know? Because death is so tricky like that. But I know it. I know it. So yes, I believe in that. I believe in that too. The reason why I said if you're lucky, one, is because it is rare. Oh, yeah. It's not like something that's just like, oh, yeah, I got someone, someone, someone. And I think people would be wrong sometimes too. Sometimes you think you found that one or you think you found that soulmate and as time will show you, that is not always the case. Yeah. Or it was and then maybe it wasn't. It wasn't anymore. Right. And that's something that we all have maybe experienced at some point. Right. Now, you are biracial, as am I. We have the same dynamic, mom Italian, dad black. Get out of here. Which is super rare. Italian and black? Yes. Fire. So that is always intriguing to me when I find other people who are not only biracial, but even on a more specific level, the same as me. Right. We have another biracial brother and that is J. Cole. Who's also Italian and black? I don't know if he's Italian, but he is biracial. OK, got it. And you were in the studio with J. Cole. Yes. You guys were working on a project. You were also in the studio with Sway Lee. That song has since come out. Yes. But the J. Cole song, we haven't seen. You haven't seen the J. Cole song yet. What was happening in that studio and what can we expect from that link up? It was great. You know, that was actually the first time that we connected. Yeah, that's the first time we connected. And it was good. He was actually just kind of building and conversating. Mike Will was there as well. So there was like just a festive kind of studio energy vibe. He came through. He happened to be in the same place. We were talking, we were conversating, building some of the conversation you heard. And then we just kind of happened to like fall on some vibes and some things and some flows. Actually, it was like two or three of them. So that was good. And we'll see what happens. Is that something that the world will maybe hear or is that something for y'all? Can we expect the record to come? It's possible. It's really possible. It's good, too. I liked it. And it was easy. It was easy. It was fluid. I don't know how he works because everybody works differently. Some people like to work, kind of catch the vibe and then go later and refine it. You know what I mean? Some people like to do it all on the spot. It kind of depends on the energy. Now, you said that was your first time connecting. Did he tell you how he felt about you when he was younger? He definitely didn't disclose that in that particular circumstance. I think that would have been wild awkward, but he might have. I think that, too. He has this very crazy story about how he was 14 and you were like 19 at the time and you were both in Texas and he went to a show and he had planned for you guys to cross paths and that he was going to give you a look and that you were going to receive that look and then come up to him. And it didn't happen that way. Did you ever hear this story? Do you know about this? I heard the story. I think the story is amazing. Do you remember the look or did the look not? I definitely can't say that I remember the look. I don't know if the look made it to me. Didn't work. I just don't know if it made it to me. He might have had the look. I might not have been there when the look... I might have been too far to see the look. It didn't get... You didn't... It was too far. It was a distance thing. I don't know because I don't remember it. But he clearly remembers it and it's a good vibe because it's really cute because everybody has a story like that. That person, if I could just get in front of them, they would feel me, I know it. What is the best studio session that you've ever had? Or maybe a better question is, what is one of the most iconic studio sessions that you've ever been a part of? That is such a good question. I feel like one of the most iconic studio sessions that I've ever been a part of was during when I was creating one of my albums called Here. We would have these sessions that were supposed to be for music but they ended up being so conversational and so therapeutic and so deep that people would be talking in ways that I don't think they ever spoke before. And in those sessions, people would just kind of come through. Swiss was in those sessions, this amazing musician, Mark Batson, who worked with me on that, one of the writers that I wrote You Don't Know My Name With, Harold Lilly was in this session, J.R., the artist, came to this session, David Blaine was in this session, Chris Rock was in this session. Somehow this musical space turned into this open door where people could come and conversate and share and we'd take pictures and people would just be like, he'd be doing magic. It was literally like mind-blowing. It didn't make any sense. We weren't writing any song. But it was still productive. But it was powerful. And then by the end of the night, everybody would kind of be everywhere building and talking and we would have written something that was so powerful. And this one song we wrote was called Illusion of Bliss and that was the question of the day. What is your illusion of bliss? And everybody had to answer that. And the song was so crazy, at the end of the night I made everybody, everybody in the studio had to drop down on their knees because it was so clearly divine. You just, music don't come like that. It just doesn't come to you like that. And it was just like mind-blowing. And that was one of the most powerful sessions. I remember I left and I was just, I couldn't even explain it. Still, even now, this is doing a terrible job, but the vibe was unbelievable. No, it sounds incredible. It sounds incredible. It was good. Now, this is a question that you've been asked before. You've answered it a bunch of times, but I have to ask because I've always told myself I would ask if I had this opportunity. Okay. Seriously? Yeah, this is not going to go where you think it's about to go. No, no, it's fine. There was a very iconic performance of Empire State of Mind with you and Jay, and a fellow New Yorker of ours, Lomama, ends up on the stage with you guys. Y'all love this, love this story. Why do you love this story so much? This is one of the most iconic internet moments, even before viral moments was a thing. And so Lomama ends up on the stage, you guys have this nice finale moment, and then here comes Lomama, arms crossed, posing with you guys. What do you remember about that happening in real time on the stage? Basically, I remember absolutely nothing. I think I was so focused on performing, because when you perform, it's like a lot. You got to hit it. You got to nail it. You got to kill it. This has to be perfect. And I know I was on this side of the stage, and I was kind of occupying that side, and I played, and then I went over there, and then he was on that side of the stage, and he was doing that. So I was over here, killing it, vibing, singing my part when it came, vibing on his thing, and then we came together in the middle, and I was on this side of him, and he was right here. So as far as I could see, this was us, doing what we planned to do the whole time. When I tell you 100%, I was oblivious to the idea that next to him was another person, which kind of scared the ---- out of me later when I figured it out. So boom, I get off the stage. This ---- is fire. Everyone's going crazy. It's madness. I was like, this is bananas. I go to my dressing room, I'm like, and his face is funny, and I was like, yo, that was so crazy. He was like, you ain't see that? And I was like, huh? He's like, you ain't see that? And I was like, we just killed it. That's what I saw. It was crazy. Yeah, I saw it. I saw it. It was nuts. And I didn't know what he was talking about until I got home, chilled out, took off my shoes, relaxed, kicked up my feet, probably caught a replay or two, and then everybody was focused on this end thing that I was bugging, because I didn't even see her. I didn't even know she was there. So now, or when you watch that replay, the emotion that you feel is what? Is it as funny to you as it is to us, or is it upsetting that it was almost like a ruining of the vibe? What does it feel? I thought it was hysterical, to be honest. I just was, the audacity, the balls, like the balls was incredible. I kind of, you kind of got to love it. You just got to love it. I mean, the Harlem is in full effect. You know, the Harlem is in full effect. But I thought it was actually kind of crazy, like, just to be that inspired. That's how I took it. You're inspired by your city, you're inspired by these two artists that are from your city. You're an artist. You have dreams and things that you're accomplishing, and you, she wanted to be a part of the moment. She got it. We all wanted to be a part of the moment, but she actually got her moment. Listen, if Kanye did it, everybody would have been, like, all good. Right. And I'm like, oh, that's just Kanye. Yeah. And then he wound up doing it. I guess that was the same night? Was it the same night? I don't know. It was a crazy night. That is an epic night. It was a crazy night. It was epic. I know that. I'm not sure. But it's all good. At this point, we've got to start speaking about legacy, right? Really? Yes. We do? Of course. Okay. Like, not this point in this interview. I mean, this point in life. Oh. Of Alicia Keys. Wow. You know, it's been 20 years since the debut, you know, and you've been around for so very long and you've seen every mountaintop of success that there is. What do you think the legacy will be? Do you care what your legacy is? Do you want it to be something specific? I mean, I think that it is important to think about what you want to do and who you want to be and what you want to, you know, be remembered for, but I definitely don't think about it every day. I'm not saying, like, what is my legacy? 8 a.m. on the dot every day. All right. Time to figure out this legacy. Let's think about it. But really, the legacy to me is, like, I just feel like I'm grateful to be known as somebody who is a real person, like a person that brings an energy that is always for the people, about the people, and with my feet on the ground, even though I know you did say that maybe some people feel like I'm somewhere over here. I really don't feel that. I really don't. I feel like there are artists that people feel like they all over there and untouchable and whatever that is, which I think is a lonely place to exist, and I think for me, they look at me as somebody that they can relate to, somebody that's a sister to them, somebody that they, you know, know is the realest, puts their work in, that creates dope ---- and has done it for, will always do it, no matter which way it comes out. So that's how I see it, and that's what I really like. Well, Alicia, thank you so much for taking the time. We appreciate it. Amazing. I love it. Well, actually, before we go there, you've been doing this thing on the internet that we've seen. What? Oh. Where you've made a YouTube video where you were encouraging people to dare you to do things. Hell, yeah. And so while you're in the daring mood. What are you daring me to do? We have a dare for you. What is it? There's a challenge that was on the internet where people would take marshmallows and they would see how many they could fit in their mouth. Are you kidding me? In one shot. Now, I don't know what your dietary restrictions are. You know, for a dare. So for a dare, she's good for it. All right, but you have to do it with me. You were the one who was asking for the dares on the internet. In this dare, you have to do it with me. Are you ready? Cheers. All right. I don't think I'm able to do very many. Do you think over or under seven? Because you can kind of squeeze them down. I feel like under. Under seven. I feel like there's a chance that you could throw up. That you could throw up? Throw up. Don't you? If you feel like you're about to get there, let's stop before that happens. This is strange. What are you on? I look cute. That's five. If you do one more, I'll do one more.