Alicia Keys Was White

I don’t mean, of course, that she was somehow able to alter her ethnic makeup. Wikipedia says she’s half a Euro mix and half African-American, and as far as I know she’s stuck with that. If there are any genetic alchemists reading this, please feel free to correct.

When I worked as an assistant manager at a Sam Goody’s around the turn of the century (!!), I remember seeing Alicia Keys’ Songs In A Minor release the Monday before it came out (I took note of it because of the pun title). Only the cover and back tray card weren’t the one most people know of. It had completely different artwork, where Keys, whose complexion can help her go “either way” depending on externalities like fashion, looked much whiter than she does today.

It wasn’t until sometime later that Minor was repackaged and Keys had a more urbanized look. Unfortunately I have no externalized evidence for this (scouring Google did nothing), just my memory. But I guess it does make marketing sense since no one is going to trust a modern soul/R&B album from a white girl, no matter how talented she is.

And finally, for no reason, here’s a video of Keys on the Cosby Show. She’s the one in the gray and black with the red collar, on the right. Cute kid.

Photo by easement.