“Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit Alicia Keys’ outstanding 2001 debut, a self-produced, Chopin-inspired R&B album that blazed a unique path to mainstream superstardom.”
“Many young female singers court the tweenie market by exaggerating their girlish charms, but twenty-year-old Alicia Keys sings for adults. Showing a maturity beyond her years, this New York newcomer’s largely self-produced debut suggests down-home R&B contemporaries like Jill Scott as well as yesteryear’s soul sophisticates. She’s not at the level of her heroes yet: […]”
