Questions and Songs in the Alicia Keys of Life Quiz

Answer: Songs In A Minor

Those are indeed the first four albums she released: "Songs In A Minor" (2001), "The Diary of Alicia Keys" (2003), "As I Am" (2007), and "The Element of Freedom" (2009). She was signed by Columbia Records right after high school, but it was four years later when Clive Davis signed her to his label J Records. That first album she released, "Songs in a Minor" went to number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and has sold over 12 million units worldwide.

Answer: Fallin'

All of those songs of hers went to number one, but only "Fallin'" was from the debut album "Songs In a Minor". "Fallin'" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2001. "My Boo" from Usher's album "Confessions" hit number one on that same chart in 2004. "No One" from Alicia Keys' album "As I Am" charted number one in 2007, and "Empire State of Mind" was a heavily played number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009.

Answer: Record of the Year

Her song "Fallin'" was nominated for Record of the Year, but it lost to U2's "Walk On". That was the only one of the six nominations she received that she lost. In addition to those other categories mentioned, she was also nominated for Best R&B Song ("Fallin'") and won again for Best R&B Album ("Songs in A Minor"). Regarding the ceremony she also commented, "I was like, 'Wow, what am I doing here? I was probably on level 50,000 vibrating the whole night. I couldn't believe it."

Answer: Keep a Child Alive

Keep a Child Alive is the brainchild (heartchild?) of Alicia Keys and it funds operations of community organizations in India, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, empowering youths with resources and opportunities, including HIV/AIDS treatment, equipping leadership skills, health resources for mothers and children, and many other acts of support. Lady Gaga established Born This Way Foundation which also focuses on empowering youth with mental health resources. Barefoot Foundation is the nonprofit group Shakira started, aiming to support schools in Colombia. Beygood is Beyonce's charity, which features a list of other charitable organizations with direct links to donate.

Answer: Egypt

There in Egypt, Alicia Keys discovered that country's unhappiness with the government, led by President Hosni Mubarek, and it ignited in her a passion to spread awareness of the growing movement. She sympathized with the people whose "dreams, hopes and ideas" have been oppressed.

She aided in helping provide a voice to move the country "in a different direction" supporting the people there and their growing voice. All these realizations came to her as she walked the streets of Cairo, and she posted to her website the call to action. Spain, Morocco, and New York City are among her favorite travel destinations.

Answer: Smokin' Aces

"The Adventures of Pluto Nash", "Larry Crowne", and "Bad Grandmas" are all films that Pam Grier appears in.

Alicia Keys played a character named Georgia Sykes in the 2006 action comedy "Smokin' Aces" starring Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta and Ben Affleck. Ms. Keys' character accidentally shoots a prostitute in the face in the process of being one of the many characters in the ensemble cast that are in pursuit of a Las Vegas magician who turned Mafia informant, played by Jeremy Piven. Some of the many pursuers are bounty hunters, some are cops, some are bail bondsmen, and in Alicia Keys' case, her Georgia Sykes is a contract killer.

Answer: Bill Clinton

Alicia Keys wound up raising $2.4 million for AIDS treatment. The event was held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. She was the host, and sang the song "Love is Stronger Than Pride" in a duet with Sade. The event honored Bill Clinton and Richard Branson for their efforts in fighting AIDS in Africa.

Answer: Jay-Z

Alicia Keys said on MTV that she had admired Jay-Z for a long time, particularly his album "Reasonable Doubt" which she called her all-time favorite. She had always wanted to collaborate with him, and one day he did indeed contact her telling her, according to Alicia, "It has this big Frank Sinatra, take-it-there feeling." So she went to the studio to hear what he had so far and liked it a lot. And then the music video of it was filmed in New York, mostly in Harlem and around Ground Zero.

Answer: Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean

Rap record producer Kasseem Dean and Alicia Keys got married in 2010, and they have two children. The husband and wife are co-chairs on the Gordon Parks Foundation which serves as a sort of archival source preserving the work of Gordon Parks, the African-American Renaissance man who was a film director ("Shaft"), photojournalist, composer, author, poet, and activist. Dean and Keys made their first magazine cover appearance in 2018, for the zine "Cultured Magazine".

Answer: Egypt

Alicia Keys named her son Egypt, in honor of her emotionally charged experience visiting Egypt in 2006. She was having a hard time in her life at the time of that trip, and when she arrived in Egypt the beauty of the country struck her; the Nile River, the temples, the pyramid and tombs, it all made a powerful impression on her. Perhaps a kind of healing. Later when she and her husband found out she was pregnant, he suggested to her that because Egypt was such an incredible experience for her, maybe Egypt would be a great name for their son.