Alicia Keys had the honor of closing New York’s Tribeca Festival Saturday night with the premiere of her new documentary Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell’s Kitchen. The film is both an examination of her life and career, and a look at how she put together her hit musical Hell’s Kitchen, loosely based on her own experiences.
With the musical, the film and a 25th anniversary edition of her debut album Songs in A Minor, Alicia’s spent a lot of time looking back lately. On the red carpet ahead of the film’s premiere, she shared with ABC Audio what all that looking back tells her about her future.
“It tells me that there is such a consistency, actually, between who I have always been and the growth is continuous. It never ends, it never stops,” said Alicia, who posed on the red carpet with her mother, Terria Joseph. Her mother’s own story is a major part of the film, as is Alicia’s relationship with her father, Craig Cook.
“I feel really grateful every step along the way,” Alicia continued. “I’m learning more and I’m becoming more brave and courageous. So, I mean, I’m really just getting started.”
Following the screening, Alicia and the film’s director, One 9, sat for a Q&A in which they discussed how, above all, the film was inspired by “the spirit of each of us as dreamers.” They also talked about how important it was to show the “diversity and the danger” of Hell’s Kitchen, the area of New York where she grew up, which shaped and continues to shape her music.
Alicia also headlined the Festival’s closing night party, playing an hour-long set featuring surprise guest Nas, and ending — fittingly, on the night the Knicks won the NBA Finals — with “Empire State of Mind.”
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