Alicia Keys recently revealed a preview of her 10th Anniversary “songs in A Minor” documentary.
Now only weeks away until the June 28th release of her special 10th Anniversary Deluxe and Collector’s edition of her groundbreaking debut album songs in A minor, the international superstar unveils the extended six minute trailer.
This documentary is an up-close and behind the scenes account on the making of Alicia Keys’ first album specifically created for this release with brand new interviews with Keys and other album collaborators.
Alicia also recently spoke on creating her sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, how Aaliyah’s passing was the inspiration behind “I Ain’t Got You,” and working with a then-unknown Kanye West and John Legend.
After the whirlwind two years of Songs In A Minor, it was time to get back into the studio. I thought I’d feel a lot of pressure, but I didn’t. After my first headlining tour, I was just ready to get in there and write and create again! I had never been on the road as long as I was with Songs In A Minor and it was a relief to be able to be home again and writing. Believe me, everyone around me felt the pressure of a follow up, but I was a bit oblivious—I didn’t realize what a big deal it was.
The studio we chose to record in had a great atmosphere! It was Called Kampo in downtown NYC and the whole place had this very fly Japanese Zen vibe. Krucial and I really took our time to create a variety of vibes, and once we stepped through those doors, the world didn’t even exist.
It felt so good to be back in the studio with Krucial. We were more inspired than ever after the year, or two, that I had been on the road. There was a lot of growth in so many ways. I was ready to write more songs that I could sing on stage and we were so eager to create a new sound, a new flow and energy. We were always experimenting because there are never any rules when it came to music. We even experienced that crazy NY blackout while we were recording The Diary of Alicia Keys album at Kampo Studios. We nearly lost one of the best songs on the album; I think It was Aint Got You…
Recording this album also marked my first collaboration with Kanye West. Working with him was pretty fantastic. Here was this new and extremely eager guy who had so much to prove. I remember the first day we got together to work on what would become, “You Don’t Know My Name,” he played me the rough idea of his first hit single, “Through the Wire.” He was just as much a ball of fire then as he is now. John Legend was also in that original session, before anyone really knew him. He did backgrounds on the song, along with an incredible writer named Harold Lilly that I’ve written with for many songs on my albums throughout the years. It was really exciting how “You Don’t Know My Name” came together.
“I Ain’t Got You” was also such an incredible song for me, it just means so much. Certain songs change everything. This was one of them. 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. 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. 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.
This album, “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” was just that. It was about where I was right there at that time in my life. It was about a girl who had seen more of the world and had a lot to say about her experiences in life and love. And that was 2003 for me. It was more about learning how to live in the present, and appreciate how far I’d come.
