Alicia Keys Grew Up Carrying a Knife at All Times Because ‘Protection Was a Big Issue’
Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Alicia Keys proudly calls New York City home. But growing up in the Big Apple as a young woman in the ’80s and ’90s wasn’t always easy. The singer-songwriter had to take some pretty extreme measures to keep herself safe. Keys revealed she grew up carrying a knife for protection, which made her mother “definitely upset.”
Alicia Keys’ upbringing in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood
Born in 1981, Keys grew up in the New York City borough of Hell’s Kitchen, which is located on the west side of Midtown Manhattan. Her mother, Terri Augello, was the provider of her family after her father left when she was just two, reports The Guardian.
Living on the salary of a legal secretary meant Keys and her mother were far from wealthy. Keys grew up seeing prostitutes and drug users on the streets of her rough neighborhood, which made her determined to succeed in her career as a musician. She told the Guardian:
“I always knew that it was in my future. I grew up around the theater. My mother is an actress. I would fall asleep on tons of theater chairs. It’s in my blood, it’s in my spirit and my fabric of who I am. I was always enamored of the way people would come into the theater as one person and three hours later emerge as a new one. I was just waiting for my time.”
After graduating Valedictorian from her performing arts high school at age 16, the “No One” singer first found success with her debut album Songs in A Minor in 2001, then again in 2003 with the critically-acclaimed The Diary of Alicia Keys.
Today, the Platinum-selling artist is widely recognized as a leading voice of the soul-R&B genre. She’s gone on to star in numerous movies and TV shows, launch a body care line, and found a nonprofit for women in music.
Growing up, Alicia Keys used to carry a knife with her at all times
During her 2007 interview, Keys spoke of her experience growing up in a violent part of town. She revealed she used to carry a knife with her at all times to protect herself from potential attackers. “You felt more comfortable with a knife,” Keys explained. “You felt if someone tried to touch me, I have something to surprise them.”
Since the ’80s, Hell’s Kitchen has seen an enormous amount of change. Now, it’s considered a desirable neighborhood to live in. According to Good Migrations, the revitalized borough now has a below-average violent crime rate for New York City. But throughout her childhood, Keys certainly had a different experience.
When asked about her mother’s feelings towards her daughter carrying a weapon, Keys said:
“I don’t remember that she took it away but she was definitely upset. She was upset that I would have to be like that, feel like that. She was, ‘If this is the case we’ll move.’ To I don’t know where. It doesn’t matter where you move, there’s always a situation where someone’s attacking you or the possibility of it.”
Keys dressed like a tomboy: ‘I thought I had to protect myself in that way‘
After growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, Keys admitted that her heightened sense of self-preservation carried over into her career. She admitted she felt an incessant need to protect herself when she was just starting out. This led to her dressing like a “tomboy” to not draw attention to herself:
“When I first got into the business, people were saying, ‘Why are you such a tomboy?’ I was a tomboy because I thought I had to protect myself in that way. As a young lady you have to be very careful. I felt any time I called attention to myself, dressed nicely in skirts or dresses, it would bring so much negative attention from people I didn’t want attention from that I shrank from it.”
She added: “It was a while before I felt comfortable as a young lady to be able to dress more feminine. So interesting the way that shapes you.”
