Sunday Diva/Three From A Hip: Alicia Keys

Sunday Diva/Three From A Hip

Alicia Keys

In my own, personal, big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to Those of the Heart. These are the singers, songwriters and muses who have spent a lifetime capturing various aspects of the human condition. Frequently, due to the whims of the music industry, their lives were not always their own... perhaps they fell out of fashion, but they persevered... ultimately remaining true to their roles as seers of the heart.

One such soul?

Alicia Keys.

There's an honesty which resonates in this woman that's refreshing. It's been there from day one, growing more powerful as her career continues to unfold.

She's her own person. And true to her own voice. 

Possessing a musical style all her own, she's a fascinating combination - having truly assimilated the influences of all the divas who've come before her.

As a songwriter, she's both old school and new school, weaving tales of romantic longing and self-empowerment. 

Physically stunning, she's never traded on her looks in order to score a hit. This is no dolled-up hootchie. That road? Not for her. And she made that clear to the industry from day one. 

Yet, she is glamourous. And undeniably successful. 

As she matures, she remains as vital as ever and an artist to watch. 

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping form her lips.

The topic: Reaching your highest potential.

"There's too much darkness in the world. Everywhere you turn, someone is tryin' to tear someone down in some way; everywhere you go, there's a feeling of inadequacy, or a feeling that you're not good enough. I want to bring a certain light to the world."

"What breaks my heart is suffering of any kind. Too often, our world is divisive and cruel where it needs to be uniting and loving."

"We have the potential to help people out of poverty, out of disease, out of slavery and out of conflict. Too often, we turn the other way because we think there's nothing we can do."

"Things can be really empty in this world, and I don't just mean the music world. It can become a very meaningless place if you don't really understand: 'who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing?' To feel fulfilment and have a deeper level of understanding, personally, that is the most important thing. I'm a very positive person, but this whole concept of having to always be nice, always smiling, always happy, that's not real. It was like I was wearing a mask. I was becoming this perfectly chiseled sculpture, and that was bad. That took a long time to understand."

"I feel the presence of a higher power. I believe that what you give is what you get. It's universal law. I believe in the power of prayer and of words. I've learned that when you predict that negative things will happen, they do."

"I feel like the majority of the fear that I had or that we have, we hold from other people. They're like people that we trust; they're their fears. All of a sudden we think that they're our fears."

"It's when we become afraid of everything and worried about everything that you are never going to reach your highest potential."

Fallin' - Alicia Keys

No One - Alicia Keys

This Girl Is On Fire - Alicia Keys

And one last parting shot...

"The element of fire to me is very powerful because of what it symbolizes, how it symbolizes a strength. It symbolizes something that's unstoppable. You can't get through it, you know."