вЂњThe climate now is not unlike the one when she first entered,вЂќ said Stephen Hill, executive vice president of music entertainment at Black Entertainment Television. But she may have enough good will among fans and gatekeepers to thrive as a nonconformist. Mobilizing massive amounts of people for one singular vision and making tremendous strides: How does that happen? IвЂ™m very fascinated by that.вЂќДЄs urban radio stations thump with proudly synthetic R&B and hip-hop, the organic soul and rock sound of Ms. She continued: вЂњI love how social people were, how politically aware they were. There is obviously some kind of true cosmic connection with that music of the вЂ™60s and the вЂ™70s.вЂќ вЂњMaybe I just passed away early and ended up being reborn in this one. вЂњI do feel like I was born in the wrong era sometimes,вЂќ Ms. Her songs often recall gospel-rooted, idealistic vintage soul, updated with deeper bass and programmed drumbeats. Her new album, в€єs I Am,В” will be released this fall. вЂњShe doesnвЂ™t compromise,вЂќ said Clive Davis, the chairman of BMG North America (the parent of J Records), who has nurtured her career since he signed her as a teenager and his company released her 2001 debut, the multimillion-selling вЂњSongs in A Minor.вЂќ вЂњI would never think of remotely asking her to compromise.вЂќДЄlicia Keys in her motherВ’s house in Washington Heights. She is an accomplished keyboardist and a singer who needs no electronic assistance. She writes and produces her own songs, with various collaborators including, on this album, the rock and pop producer Linda Perry and the songwriter from Floetry, Marsha Ambrosius. Keys comes across as a proud throwback: a soul singer in the era of abbreviated R&B hooks. Keys.ДЄlthough she is only 26, in many ways Ms. Careers have been forged by вЂњAmerican Idol,вЂќ which boosts singers rather than songwriters, entertainers more than musicians - nearly the opposite of a self-determined performer like Ms. KeysвЂ™s studio albums, CD sales have stayed in a tailspin and albums have been dismantled in favor of singles and ring tones. Keys as a musician and for a recording business with few young stars that inspire loyalty. Getting it right is essential both for Ms. ItвЂ™s there when itвЂ™s right, and thatвЂ™s when itвЂ™s there.вЂќ вЂњ вЂIвЂ™ve just got to turn the song in by Wednesday, and IвЂ™m not going to get in the way, but - вЂ™ вЂќ Marroquin reported, imitating the tone of the record-company man. Keys he had just gotten a no-pressure-but-pressure call from her A&R contact at J Records. Manny Marroquin, who was mixing the albumвЂ™s first single, вЂњNo One,вЂќ told Ms. The album was about 10 days from being finished, and well into the wee hours people were busy with last-minute mixing and mastering. While some of its songs reaffirm her connection to 1960s and вЂ™70s soul, others lean closer to rock - from the Beatles to U2 - than she has before. вЂњI just was really adamant about doing things that were not expected,вЂќ she said. Keys has been describing it as вЂњrebelliousвЂќ at every opportunity. 13, вЂњAs I AmвЂќ will be her first studio album since she released вЂњThe Diary of Alicia KeysвЂќ in 2003, and Ms. ItвЂ™s where she made her next album, вЂњAs I AmвЂќ (J Records), working at her own pace. Photos of Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Bob Marley and other old-school figures presided from the walls. But beyond its parlor the Oven was a warren of clean, well-equipped studios on three floors. вЂњIt looks like GrandmaвЂ™s house.вЂќ From the outside it did. вЂњI love my spot,вЂќ she said proudly as she offered a visitor a tour, wearing wraparound sunglasses and a вЂњBorn to Be WildвЂќ T-shirt. She spent the afternoon rehearsing with her band in Weehawken, N.J., then headed back to the Oven for a late-night mixing session. Keys and her producing partner, Kerry (Krucial) Brothers, have converted into a complex of recording and mixing studios. That morning the Jamaican bassist and producer Robbie Shakespeare, from the duo Sly and Robbie, had flown in from Miami for a session at the Oven: a house on Long Island that Ms. AT midnight on a Monday in late July, the day was far from over for Alicia Keys.

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