Jill Scott | photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images // Alicia Keys | photo courtesy of the artist // Tierra Whack | photo by Sam Kesler for WXPN
Listen to Alicia Keys team up with Philly powerhouses Jill Scott and Tierra Whack on her new album
A stand-out among a slew of worthy new albums released on Friday was ALICIA, the star-studded and seriously anticipated seventh LP from Alicia Keys. The record finds the long-running NYC singer-songwriter stretching her scope into the realms of disco, electronic pop, dub, funk and classic R&B, and her roster of guests helps elevate the set even further.
In addition to high-profile collaborations with names like Sampha, Khalid, and Miguel, the album features two match-ups with Philly powerhouses — singer, songwriter, and poet Jill Scott, as well as spitfire rapper and sonic visionary Tierra Whack.
Whack’s collab with Keys lands early in the album, and with a backdrop of minimal electronic beats and suave finger-snaps, Keys sings about countering despair with self-care, and Whack’s rhymes joyfully follow suit: “If I was you, I would probably cry and miss me too / Dissin’ who? This the new me, I’m gettin’ chicken, boo / Whack and Alicia. Well, at least I feel invincible.”
Later on, the final act in ALICIA finds Jilly From Philly pairing up with Keys on a track called, appropriately enough, “Jill Scott.” The soaring synth heavy soul is all about how the world needs love, and for it, Keys invites Scott to explore her roots in the Philly spoken word scene to read a poem about about righteous love: “It’s a vibration that everybody everywhere can’t help but perceive.”
ALICIA is out now via RCA Records; listen here.