Here (Alicia Keys album)

Here
Studio album by Alicia Keys
Released	November 4, 2016
Recorded	2014–2016
Genre	R&B soul hip hop
Length	45:55
Label	RCA
Producer	Various Alicia Keys (also exec.) Swizz Beatz (also exec.) Erika Rose Santoro (exec.) Mark Batson Illangelo Jimmy Napes Pharrell Williams Harold Lilly
Alicia Keys chronology
Girl on Fire (2012) Here (2016)
Singles from Here
"In Common" Released: May 4, 2016 "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)" Released: October 7, 2016

Here is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released on November 4, 2016, by RCA Records. The first single from the standard edition, "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)", was released on October 7, 2016. "In Common" and "Hallelujah" were featured on the deluxe edition of the album.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Background

Keys told Humanity magazine that "the music for this album was created so fast—the fastest I've ever created music before. It was like raining down every night, like storms of music was just coming out. It was crazy because I never experienced creating like that; I came in already knowing what I wanted to start to talk about. I knew the topics that I wanted to address and I knew who I wanted to assemble to help me create this very powerful sonic and lyrical journey. So everything I did was with so much intention that when the music began it made sense that it just came so fast. We did probably 30 songs in like 10 days."^[7][8]

Here is Keys' first album in four years, following Girl on Fire (2012). Keys said that she was not planning a hiatus, but after she finished recording material for the album, she found out she was pregnant which "put a different time spin on things."^[7] Her son Genesis was born in December 2014.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10[10]
Metacritic	76/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[13]
Financial Times	[14]
The Guardian	[15]
The Independent	[16]
The Irish Times	[17]
NME	[18]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[19]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Vice	A–[21]

Here received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 14 reviews.^[11] Robert Christgau hailed it as Keys' best record since 2001's Songs in A Minor and credited Swizz Beats for defining "the funk her adventures in gospel grit demand, evoking Memphis thump while remaining so hip-hop that the samples stay in Nas-Wu-Tribe territory".^[21] The Wall Street Journal's Jim Fusilli notes that the album "at its highest peaks is a powerful work of contemporary pop by an already established musician who is still determined to grow."^[22] Entertainment Weekly writer Nolan Feeney felt that "the combination of her subject matter and her urgent delivery makes Here [Keys's] most vital release in years — and a welcome addition to 2016’s rich canon of albums from Beyoncé, Solange, Frank Ocean, Common, and Dev Hynes that address black life in America.^[13] Keith Harris, writing for Rolling Stone, remarked that "Keys' eighth album downplays her classical training in favor of a grittier R&B edge." He described Here as "the sounds New Yorkers overhear blasting from passing cars and seeping from pedestrian earbuds, reimagined as a hectic but coherent symphony."^[20] Nick Levine from NME found that "we’ve known since she debuted with "Fallin'" in 2001 that Alicia Keys can write songs that sound anthemic. But with Here, it feels as though she’s dug deep to produce a set of genuine, heartfelt and relevant anthems.^[18] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney wrote for Financial Times that Here was animated by "politically active music" such as Sam Cooke's 1964 Civil Rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", while noting that her "powerful vocals carry the memory of Lauryn Hill in her prime."^[14]

In a mixed review, Andy Kellman of AllMusic found that "Keys' invigorated energy level and need to simply expel ideas, rather than refine them, lends the album a hollow quality." He also criticized the songwriting, in which he found an abundance of temporary placeholders: "There are more yeahs, ohs, and unghs here than on any previous Keys album."^[12] Similarly, Vanessa Okoth-Obbo from Pitchfork wrote that "the rhythms on Here represent a departure from her previous efforts and indicate a willingness to experiment with her sound but the lyrics, which rarely betray a sense of adventure, cancel out most of this good work."^[19]

Commercial performance

Here debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 50,000 album-equivalent units, of which 42,000 were pure album sales.^[23]It was #1 on the US and UK R&B charts. It marked her lowest opening sales for an album and was a considerable drop from her previous efforts, The Element of Freedom (2009) and Girl on Fire (2012), which opened to sales of 417,000 and 159,000 units, respectively.^[24] It is Keys' seventh US top 10 album.^[23]

Track listing

Here – Standard edition[25][26]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Beginning (Interlude)"	Alicia Augello Cook	Alicia Keys	1:04
2.	"The Gospel"	Cook Kasseem Dean Robert Diggs Jason Hunter Corey Woods Sean Martin	Keys Swizz Beatz Mark Batson	3:01
3.	"Pawn It All"	Cook Dean Batson Harold Lilly	Keys Swizz Beatz Batson	3:10
4.	"Elaine Brown (Interlude)"	Cook	Keys	0:50
5.	"Kill Your Mama"	Cook Adele Emily Sandé	Keys	2:40
6.	"She Don't Really Care / 1 Luv"	Cook Dean Roy Ayers Edwin Birdsong Walter Booker Kamaal Fareed Ali Shaheed Muhammad Charles Stepney William Allen Tyrone Johnson	Keys Swizz Beatz	6:07
7.	"Elevate (Interlude)"	Cook	Keys	0:48
8.	"Illusion of Bliss"	Cook Dean Batson Lilly	Keys Swizz Beatz Batson	5:23
9.	"Blended Family (What You Do for Love)" (featuring ASAP Rocky)	Cook Latisha Hyman Rakim Mayers Brandon Aly Edie Brickell John Bush John Houser Kenneth Withrow Dave Cuncio	Keys Batson	3:31
10.	"Work on It"	Cook Pharrell Williams	Keys Williams	3:34
11.	"Cocoa Butter (Cross & Pic Interlude)"	Cook	Keys	0:59
12.	"Girl Can't Be Herself"	Cook Batson Lilly Martin	Keys Batson	2:39
13.	"You Glow (Interlude)"	Cook	Keys	0:25
14.	"More Than We Know"	Cook Batson Lilly	Keys Batson	4:35
15.	"Where Do We Begin Now"	Cook Batson Lilly Martin Hyman	Keys Batson	2:47
16.	"Holy War"	Cook Carlo Montagnese Billy Walsh	Keys Illangelo	4:22
Total length:				45:55

Here – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[27][28]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Hallelujah"	Cook Jimmy Napes	Keys Napes	3:09
18.	"In Common"	Cook Montagnese Taylor Parks Walsh	Illangelo	3:29
Total length:				52:33

Notes

• "Pawn It All" features background vocals by Swizz Beatz.
• "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)" features background vocals by Tish Hyman.
• "She Don't Really Care / 1 Luv" contains samples of "One Love", written by Nas, Q-Tip, and Jimmy Heath, and performed by Nas; it also contains interpolations of "Fool Yourself", written by Fred Tackett and performed by Little Feat.
• "Elevate (Interlude)" features uncredited vocals by Nas.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Here liner notes.^[29]

Musicians Roy Ayers – vibraphone, background vocals Mark Batson – producer, piano, drum programming, engineering Tish Hyman – background vocals Illangelo – instrumentation, background vocals Alicia Keys – vocals, drum programming, executive production, Rhodes piano, keyboards, Moog Taurus, piano, vocal arrangement, vocal production, background vocals Dave Kuncio – guitar Harold Lilly – drum programming MusicManTy – drum programming, production ASAP Rocky – vocals Pharrell Williams – drum programming, Rhodes piano, vocal production, executive production, drum programming, Moog Taurus, background vocals Additional personnel Meghan Foley – art direction, design Erwin Gorostiza – creative direction Arthur Johnson – videography Paola Kudacki – photography Earle Sebastian – creative direction

Production personnel Swizz Beatz – production, executive production Mark Batson – production Val Brathwaite – assistance, mixing assistance, project assistance John Cranfield – mixing assistance Eric Eylands – assistance The Il'luminaries – production Kez Khou – project assistance Sean Klein – assistance, mixing assistance David Kutch – mastering Mike Larson – engineering Ken Lewis – engineering Tony Maserati – mixing Ann Mincieli – engineering, mixing Zeke Mishanec – vocal engineering Brendan Morawski – assistance, mixing assistance, project assistance Kevin Peterson – mastering assistance Ramón Rivas – assistance, mixing assistance, project assistance, videography Erika Rose – executive production Jon Schacter – assistance Tyler Scott – mixing assistance

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30]	14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[31]	22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32]	12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33]	22
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34]	10
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[35]	12
French Albums (SNEP)[36]	20
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[37]	14
Irish Albums (IRMA)[38]	27
Italian Albums (FIMI)[39]	14
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[40]	24
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[41]	16
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[42]	13
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[43]	15
Scottish Albums (OCC)[44]	39
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[45]	15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[46]	21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47]	5
Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[48]	2
UK Albums (OCC)[49]	21
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[50]	1
US Billboard 200[51]	2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[52]	1

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition, format(s), label and reference.

Region	Date	Edition(s)	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Worldwide	November 4, 2016	Standard	CD digital download streaming	RCA Sony Music	[25]
		Deluxe			[26]

See also

• List of 2016 albums
• List of UK R&B Albums Chart number ones of 2016

References

1. Kaufman, Gil (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys Releasing 'Here' on Nov. 4; Listen to 'Blended Family' Single with A$AP Rocky". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
2. Blistein, Jon (October 7, 2016). "Hear Alicia Keys' Heartfelt Ode 'Blended Family' With A$AP Rocky". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
3. Pearce. Sheldon (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys Announces New Album Here, Shares A$AP Rocky Collab "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
4. Renshaw, David (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys Announces New Album Here With A$AP Rocky Collaboration". The Fader. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
5. Young, Alex (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys announces new album, Here, shares ASAP Rocky single — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
6. Goodman, Jessica (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys releases A$AP Rocky collab from new album, Here". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
7. Freedman, Jared (July 6, 2016). "Alicia Keys". Citizens of Humanity. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
8. Geslani, Michele (November 4, 2016). "Stream: Alicia Keys' new album HERE". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
9. Webber, Stephanie (December 28, 2014). "Alicia Keys Gives Birth, Welcomes Second Baby Boy With Swizz Beatz: See His Unique Name!". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
10. "Here by Alicia Keys reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
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13. Feeney, Nolan (November 9, 2016). "Alicia Keys' Here: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
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15. Bowser, Edward (November 10, 2016). "Album Review: Alicia Keys, Here". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
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