Alicia Keys Launches Keys SoulCare on the 20th Anniversary of Debut Album

Early June marks the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Songs in A Minor. It’s also when her Keys Soulcare beauty and lifestyle brand will launch three new products.

Written By Shayla Lawson for Bustle Media

Alicia Keys has published her first memoir, More Myself: A Journey, and last fall she dropped her seventh studio album, Alicia.

“It's still all magic to me, though,” Keys says, looking back. “That never changes. It’s all magic. I never know exactly how it’s going to happen. Never. Not when I'm writing a song. Not when I'm performing a show. I never know exactly how it's gonna be. I work for it. I practice hard. I try my best. But, whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. And that magic is something I deeply respect.”

In recent years, as she has pared down her beauty look, often opting for a bare, gleaming face over the heavy make-up typically required of entertainers, it’s become impossible to talk about Alicia Keys without mentioning her glow. 

With Keys Soulcare, Keys is following the now well-trod path from celebrity mom to lifestyle mogul. But when Keys describes the line as a reflection of her own personal evolution, you’re inclined to believe her.

“All my life, I've had to figure out this balance between how you're able to offer people an experience and how that can also remain pure,” she says of the challenges of launching a beauty brand that reflects her values as an artist and a human being — and then making money off of it. She’s learned to think of selling anything she creates, from her music to Keys Soulcare, as an exchange of energy. She pours so much of herself into what she does, “It’s OK that you’re asking for something in return because money is just energy, really.”

Credits:

Photographer: Quil Lemons

Stylist: Jason Bolden

Hair: Nai'vasha Grace

Makeup: Tasha Reiko Brown

Manicurist: Temeka Jackson