She says the importance of empathy was a running theme in her childhood apartment, where her mother hung a framed poster of the Golden Rule on the wall. This spring Keys went as far as tweeting out her cell phone number so that people could text her directly with their thoughts and questions she's been responding with birthday wishes, random musings, and spontaneous jam sessions.
(That aura of unforced calm made her the ideal host for this year's Grammys, which took place at L.A.'s Staples Center just hours after former Lakers star Kobe Bryant's death and became a spontaneous grieving session.)Ī huge part of Keys's own identity is charity work and social activism she's the music world's reigning queen of good vibes and good deeds, with two decades of ambitious ventures, including Keep a Child Alive (which helps kids around the world affected by HIV/AIDS) and She Is the Music (which advocates for women in the music business). Calling in from quarantine via video chat, she tells me that this is her first Zoom cover interview, but even on a laptop screen she exudes a blend of serenity and sincerity that makes you want to slow down, lean back, and listen. And right now, at a time when it seems like the main thing uniting the planet is a sense of fear and uncertainty, Keys's unique gifts are more welcome than ever. In a notoriously fragmented music industry, she is the rare star whose broad fan base (13-year-olds, Gen X–ers, Barack Obama) is as diverse as her musical influences (Miles Davis, Roberta Flack, Chopin).
During the two decades since, Keys has figured out some of adulthood's essential secrets, including the fact that when you stop trying hard to be liked, you magically become more likable.