By 2009, Alicia Keys had made quite an impression on R&B lovers. In fact, it wouldn’t be farfetched to say she’d made an impression on music fans period. However, when it was time to release, The Element of Freedom, her fourth album, the question was could she keep it going?
What’s an R&B album without love songs? Ms. Keys kept the album within R&B guidelines with tracks such as “Love is Blind” and “That’s How Strong My Love Is.”
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“Through the shake of an earthquake,” Alicia Keys sings in the latter. “I will never fall/That’s how strong my love is/Like a ship through the storm, we can risk it all/That’s how strong my love is.”
If you were like myself and treated 90s R&B like a drug you couldn’t shake, Alicia help kicked that habit with “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready),” the album’s fifth single. The track could’ve been a legitimate replacement for Jagged Edge’s “Let’s Get Married.”
The Element of Freedom was just that in every form. Inspiration could be found in “Wait Till See You Smile.”
I thought this album gave you balance in terms of subject matter, sound, and tempo. Whether is was the Beyonce feature “Put It In a Love Song” or the Prince-inspired, “This Bed,” you could walk away not feeling disheartened by an one-trick pony album.
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The Element of Freedom debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. This became Keys’ first album to not debut at number one. However, the album would be certified double-platinum by 2020.
As I aforementioned, I was so obsessed with 90s R&B that I didn’t think the era couldn’t be duplicated. And it couldn’t. The artists going into the following decade had to carve out their own lane. Not only was Alicia Keys one of the leading sculptors, she closed out the decade with an impressive work of art.
Alicia Keys’ ‘The Element of Freedom’; Classic, Jammin’, Regular, or Not Impressed?
Polls Are Closed!!
Classic! – 50%
Not Impressed – 25%
Jammin’ – 25%
Regular – 0%