Born aware of her old soul yet living in New York's inner city amidst the dominance of Biggie and Jay Z, Alicia Keys natural talents blossomed into a rare mix of hip-hop flavour and insightful, wise-beyond-her-years songwriting. She signed to Arista Records in 1998 and, in the spirit of a genius like D'Angelo or Prince, she continued the process of writing, producing and recording the debut she'd begun penning at age fourteen. In late 1999, Alicia followed Clive Davis to his new J Records to produce a debut that is a deep, melodic, soulful gem of an album. Songs in A Minor is out at last and features Jermaine Dupri and Isaac Hayes.