[27][28][29] Living in the rough neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen,[22][23] she was, from an early age, regularly exposed to street violence, drugs, prostitution, and subjected to sexual propositions in the sex trade- and crime-riddled area.

[23] Keys began receiving classical piano lessons by age seven,[44] practicing six hours a day,[42] learning the Suzuki method and playing composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Satie.

[47][48] While Keys worked on her songs, Columbia executives attempted to change her material; they wanted her to sing and have others create the music, forcing big-name producers on her who demanded she also write with people with whom she was not comfortable.

"[55] Edge, who was by that time head of A&R at Arista Records,[25] said, "I didn't see that there was much hands-on development at Columbia, and she was smart enough to figure that out and to ask to be released from her contract, which was a bold move for a new artist.

[36] PopMatters wrote that "Keys's Songs in A Minor is a testament to her desire (and patience) to create a project that most reflects her sensibilities as a 20-year-old woman and as a musical, cultural, and racial hybrid.

[98] Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards.

[110] In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of Nick Jr.’s CGI-animated children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".

[139] Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris.

[207][208] On October 18, 2017, NBC announced that Keys would be returning to the series for the show's fourteenth season of The Voice alongside Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Kelly Clarkson.

[227] In addition to hosting the event, Keys performed multiple times, including a tribute with Boyz II Men to basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash earlier that same day.

[264] Rolling Stone remarked that Keys broke into the music world as a singer "with hip-hop swagger, an old-school soul sound and older school (as in Chopin) piano chops", her appeal "bridging the generation gap".

[265] On MSN's list of "Contemporary R&B, hip hop and rap icons", it was stated that Keys achieved prominence by "drawing from her classical technique as a pianist, enhanced by her ease as a multi-instrumentalist ... and songwriting steeped in her formal studies.

"[51] Rolling Stone wrote that, with her classical training, Keys "reintroduced the idea of a self-reliant (but still pop-friendly) R&B singer-songwriter – a type that stretches back to Stevie Wonder", crossing generational lines in the process.

[269] Blender magazine expressed that Keys emerged as a "singer-songwriter-instrumentalist-producer with genuine urban swagger", and her largely self-produced second album showcased her growing "deftness and explorative verve".

[273] PopMatters noted her "deep purple vocals" and considered that Keys is "less concerned about technical proficiency" and more interested in "rendering musical moments as authentic and visceral as possible".

[12] Reviewing a live performance, the Los Angeles Times wrote that Keys has a "commanding voice" and the "style and vision to convey the character and detail of the songs", and praised "the range and taste of her musical instincts".

[276] Keys has cited influences including Whitney Houston, John Lennon, Sade, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Carole King, Prince, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, Barbra Streisand, Radiohead,[277] and Stevie Wonder.

[290] In 2002, The New York Times wrote that on stage Keys "invariably starts with a little Beethoven" and "moves into rhythm-and-blues that's accessorized with hip-hop scratching, jazz scat-singing and glimmers of gospel.

[293] NPR described a few foundational elements in Key's music: "heartache or infatuation", a "tenderness and emotion made heavy with wisdom", a "patiently unfurling melody", and her "yearning" voice.

[300] In 2017, Kerry Washington also wrote "Songs in A Minor infused the landscape of hip-hop with a classical sensibility and unfolded the complexity of being young, gifted, female and black for a new generation.

[319] Rolling Stone wrote that Keys was "something new" in contemporary popular music, "bridging the generation gap" with "hip-hop swagger, an old-school soul sound and older school (as in Chopin) piano chops.

[264] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone wrote that Keys "reintroduced the idea of a self-reliant (but still pop-friendly) R&B singer-songwriter – a type that stretches back to Stevie Wonder", crossing generational lines in the process.

[269] On MSN's list of "Contemporary R&B, hip hop and rap icons", it was stated that Keys "set a high bar" from the outset of her career, "drawing from her classical technique as a pianist, enhanced by her ease as a multi-instrumentalist...and songwriting steeped in her formal studies.

[320] Keys transcends genres, The Recording Academy also stated, incorporating her "classical background into her music and including gospel, jazz, blues and vintage soul, rock, and pop influences", and she is "one of the most respected musicians of today.

[365][366] Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine, orphan care, and social support to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

[378] In the same year, Keys performed on ReAct Now: Music & Relief and Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, two benefit programs that raised money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

[379][380] In July 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.

She participated in a panel titled "HIV Priorities for Positive Change: In Women's Words", in which she calls on supporting organizations that provide treatment and care for families affected by AIDS.

[386] In September 2012, she was featured in a campaign called "30 Songs / 30 Days" to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book.

On July 26, 2019, Bloomberg News reported Keys and Beatz were avidly purchasing works by artist Tschabalala Self and that they decided to keep two of the pieces they bought and donate one to the Brooklyn Museum.