Alicia Keys now an Independent Artist with Sony contract allegedly fulfilled

20-year after her debut, Alicia Keys is now an Independent Artist with her Sony Deal allegedly fulfiled with the KEYS project.

Alicia Keys

The moment Alicia Keys dropped her eighth studio album KEYS on December 10, the decorated music icon had every reason to celebrate. For starters, the 15-time Grammy Award winner delivered an innovative concept double album where she presented 14 original tracks on Side A and then remixed and reimagined those same tracks for Side B. And while her artistic side continues to soar, Alicia, the business-woman is set to reach new heights now that she stands as an independent artist.

With KEYS, the iconic singer fulfilled the recording contract she signed with Sony over 20 years ago when she dropped her 2001 debut Songs in A Minor. She made the announcement during a conversation with Genius on Twitter Spaces—the social media giant’s new audio forum.

“I’m so excited because KEYS is actually the last album I have on a major label,” Alicia announced during the conversation which co-starred Jay-Z and was moderated by Genius’ VP of Content Strategy Rob Markman.

“Congratulations first of all, that’s an accomplishment,” Hov said excitedly. “The fact that you were signed to a label for 20 years is an amazing thing in itself, but the fact that you were able to complete your contract, not many people have been afforded that. That rarely happens for someone to maintain relevance through a contact like that.”

Jay is one of the greatest wordsmiths music has ever seen, but maintaining relevance is a bit of an understatement when you consider Keys’ on-going run. Throughout her 20-year career, Keys has remained a dominant force by every measure imaginable. After dropping her debut, Alicia won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2002, and took home 5 trophies that year, including Song of the Year for her debut, chart-topping, “Fallin’” — which also sold 12 million copies worldwide.

The Recording Industry Association of America named Alicia the top certified female R&B artist of the millennium with 20 million certified albums and 27.5 million certified digital singles in the U.S. To date Keys has earned 5 No. 1 albums, including her 2005 Unplugged project and 4 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including her 2009 duet with Jay Z, “Empire State of Mind.” And while we’re still tabulating the stats on the newly released KEYS, the singer’s previous album, the 2020 ALICIA proves she is still going strong, as evidenced by the project’s 3 platinum singles (“Underdog,” “Show Me Love” and “So Done”).

There’s no question that Keys has dominated music in every statistical measure, but there is no tangible metric for her influence. Since her emergence, Alicia has stood as a one-of-one artist, hellbent on breaking molds and shattering glass ceilings. Alicia came in as a young woman with a hard rock demeanor that reminded us of NYC rap stars like Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and Jay-Z— but she came in with her classical piano, powerful voice and a pen that offered fans a new perspective about love and life.

Just seeing Keys play her instrument at every award show imaginable inspired a new generation of artists like H.E.R. and Anderson .Paak. She’s received props from legends that came before her. Prince, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, have all sung her praises. While contemporary artists like Hov, Usher, Drake and Kanye West, have all lined up for features. She’s a musical icon, a producer, an actor, a humanitarian, an innovator, a best-selling author, a mother and now, finally after 20 years, an independent artist.

Source: Genius