Back in December, Alicia Keys liberated her eighth studio LP KEYS, a 26-song concept that the R&B legend split into two parts — Originals and Unlocked. In addition, Pusha T, Brandi Carlile, Swae Lee, Lil Wayne, Khalid, and Lucky Daye provided contributions to Keys’ latest effort.
Today (Aug. 12), Keys returns with a deluxe edition of the aforementioned album dubbed KEYS II, which adds on four new cuts and collaborations alongside Daye, Kaskade, Black Coffee, and Brent Faiyaz, the last of whom provides his vocals and production skills on “Trillions.” With additional backing from Jordan Ware, “Trillions” serves as a reimagining of the standout “Billions,” a ode to both love for others and love for self:
“Baby, don’t let me do the things that I do, everybody in the world know that’s true, I am a one in a billion, you are a one in a billion, we got a one in a billion, don’t let me do the things that you do, everybody in the world knows it’s true, you are a one in a billion, I am a one in a billion…”
KEYS follows 2020’s ALICIA, another top tier offering that made landfall in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite unavoidable delays as a result, ALICIA still left fans full with 18 soulful cuts and assists from Diamond Platnumz, Sampha, Tierra Whack, Miguel, Snoh Aalegra, Kaash Paige, and more.
In a past interview with REVOLT, Keys spoke on how she approached making music under quarantine:
“Well, first of all, I was completely confused at the beginning of it … Like, what do I do? How do I do it? … Then I started really carving out that space, which helped. … It wasn’t instant. It wasn’t constant. It wasn’t like every second I was overflowing with ideas.”
Press play on both KEYS II and a visual for “Trillions” below.