R&B superstar Alicia Keys recently revealed that it was her passion for music that stopped her getting in with a bad crowd when she was growing up in a rough part of New York City. The beautiful R&B singer famous for her soulful vocals; her smash hit albums and her stylish R&B music videos grew up in an infamous part of New York called Hells Kitchen which was known for its violence and decided very early on that music was her route out of poverty.

Alicia Keys said: “When I was about 13 or 14, I was in the street when someone got shot in a gang situation.”

She added: “What was difficult was that in my group of friends, some went the way of gangs and drugs and others didn’t. You couldn’t blame those that did because we were surrounded by it. It was what they knew, all they knew,” she added.

Alicia Keys continued: “I was lucky that I had my mother, my grandmother and my music. I was a tough kid but I didn’t want that to be my future. It makes me sad to think that some of my friends had no escape.”

Since then of course Alicia Keys has gone onto become one of the hottest R&B singers in the world with multi platinum albums and numerous Grammy Awards. Alicia Keys latest album The Element Of Freedom released on December 11 2009 debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 Album charts and has sold 1,391, 300 copies to date. The album also features collaborations with R&B superstar Beyonce Knowles and Hip hop legend Jay Z.

R&B superstar Alicia Keys is also currently touring on her phenomenal Freedom Tour in support of her fourth studio album The Element Of Freedom.

Check out the cool Jay Z and Alicia Keys rap music video for their smash hit number one single "Empire State Of Mind" below.

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