Alicia Keys Information
Section: KrucialKeys

Some information & photos in this section are taken from official KrucialKeys site.

What is KrucialKeys?
KrucialKeys is Kerry 'Krucial' Brothers and Alicia Keys. The unique combination of these two incredible musicians/producers and visionaries began in 1996 with a partnership that created a sound and writing style incomparable to any other. Soon, KrucialKeys was born and became a creative powerhouse that continues to give birth to the best quality music, songs and production available.
The philosophy of KrucialKeys centers on the knowledge that our inimitable blend of raw talent, enthusiasm, craftsmanship and drive will exceed beyond the parameters of normal industry standards. We continue to believe that our unconventional thought, combined with discipline, determination, and imagination leads to innovative thinking that puts us in a category all our own!
KrucialKeys' commitment to this vision has allowed for the formation of a family-like environment that creates timeless hits for already established artists while also being a home to the next award-winning stable of writers, producers, musicians, and up-and-coming artists who will continue to craft classic material of all genres and styles.
KrucialKeys is a movement that intends on bringing forth a Musical Legacy that will shape the sound, feel and texture of the world!

The Family
Alicia Keys
Kerry Brothers
Erika Rose
Young Illz
 
L Green
Kumasi
KBillz 45

Q & A with Krucial
• How did you meet Alicia?
"When I was out there running my circuit and doing open-mics and doing the Lyricist Lounge and Bobbito...after the clubs were shut down everybody would go to the west fourth area right after the clubs in the summertime. And this is like the mid-90s and at that time you could see any given Emcee out there doing a cipher in the park or on the corner near the west fourth basketball courts. There was cats like Supernat and Luquantum Leap. One day she was out there in the ciphers just vibin' and flowin' wit everybody and usually I keep in touch with people I'm feelin' when they got a lil somethin'. We kept in touch and a couple years later we was checking up on what everybody was doing with their career. One thing leadto another, the ciphers started going from the streets to my crib and she was one of the people that consistently kept going. We also used to just make tapes together, just to vibe wit' but nothing really concrete, just doing music because you love it. Then people started saying, "Yo, y'all got something." So we formed Krucial Keys in '96".

• What inspires you when you sit down in the studio to create new joints?
"Depends… sometimes I‘ll have sounds in my head already. Sometimes I search for sounds and end up creating from what sounds I may stumble upon. Sometimes I dig through the crates and come up on a hot loop or snare or hit. Or maybe just the record gets me in a zone and I create fresh off the feeling".

• Tell about MC Illz.
"Illz is the truth. He is the first kid I meet who is an old soul in Hip Hop. He knows the history. Sometimes I forget how old he is. At 18, his insight is deeper than cats almost twice his age. He’s the future, trust me. His album will be coming top of next year, maybe even sooner depending on if the world is really ready for a change".


'Take Da Hood Back' Lyrics
Yo! I'll Babies can't eat? (I don't like that shit!)
Cops kill and go free!?(I don't like that shit!)
Moms can't walk the streets!? (I don't like that shit!)
You Dumpin drugs on me!?(I don't like that shit!)

I'm The Sum of the Chaos, Genocide and Pay offs
Corporation Lay-Offs, chemicals hard to stay Off
(when you) struggle for a living, and you never get a day off,
plus everybody got a weakness, someone else can play off,
where Cops praise Adolph, and aint afraid to spray off,
rounds that will brake off, half the plate you ate off,
and nobody comes to the rescue, when they arrest you,
or just straight dead you, written clear and legible,
on the front page in bold letters, n*ggaz die over
gold and leather, the bolder the better,
kids holding berettas, prone to the terror, shown in this era,
in a place known as america, (can u see me)
going crazy in Rockaway or maybe a block away
from the harlem hospital, hopping over obstacles,
dodging from a cop who would love to pop a shot in you
(but) still got to do what they said wasn't possible

Yo! I'll babies can't eat!? (I don't like that shit!)
Cops kill and go free!? (I don't like that shit!)
Moms can't walk the streets!? (I don't like that shit!)
You dumpin' drugs on me!? (I don't like that shit!)
Move em out! (Move em out!) Move em up! (Move em up!)
Ride em out! (Ride em out!) Ride or die! (Ride or die!)
Time to take Da Hood Back (Time to take Da Hood Back?)
Time to take Da Hood Back ( Let's take Da Hood Back!)

I got peeps across the seas who thug in the service
Pray they come home Experts with government burners,
let it heat up your chest, like you're hugging a furnace
so that bullshit you spitting, just doesn't concern us,
tables are turning, plus we're determined, to get rid of vermin
Touch you with words, like I'm Preaching sermon
my n*ggaz is good earners, we yearn for peace
(so) we can organize a Rally, or burn the streets
learn to teach my seeds, to acquire the degrees
we need, to achieve, so the family succeeds
so hammers will squeeze, by any means necessary
cradle to the grave , hospital to the cemetery

We've got to build so much strength,
in building our community.
that if they come to get one person,
they gonna have to mess with us all,
thats what we got to do
that's what we got to do


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