Biography

Keyshia Michelle Cole grew up in Oukland in the state of California. She was fostered by Yvonne Cole at the age of five. Her elder bother Sean Cole raps under the name Nutt-So. Sean was a close friend of Tupak Shakur and recorded several tracks with him before his death. Keyshia was also interested in music since her early years, polished intensively her vocals and made her first record at the age of 12. However, the girl pondered whether she should leave her home city with familiar streets and move to the nearest musical industry center in order to start a solo career, or not. Therefore, learning about her boyfriend's cheating on her, Keyshia made her decision immediately and headed to conquer Los Angeles. She appeared there at the age of 16, sitting in a rented car with poor cash in the wallet.

In several months after this courageous step, Keyshia passed the audition to the A&M Records studio, where her reach and colorful soprano, ideally fitting for singing soul, was highly estimated. In 2004, the first single Never was released, featuring the duet of Keyshia and one of her favorite singers Eve. In June 2005, the first Keyshia's album - The Way It Is - was ready with the help of the glorious rapper and producer Kanye West. The first two singles from the album - I Changed My Mind and (I Just Want It) To Be Over - failed to catch the eye of wide auditory, while the public warmly welcomed the touching third single I Should Have Cheated, which brought the golden status to the disc. Penetrating and sincere R&B singles with soul elements Love and You’ve Changed firmed Keyshia's success.

The singer immediately got down to her second full-length, shooting in the reality show Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is at the same time. In September 2007, the second album Just Like You saw the light. The lead-single Let It Go, featuring Missy Elliott and Lil'Kim, became a major club music event. Songs from Just Like You are autobiographical in their majority - so are the tracks from her previous work. However, the Just Like You material differs due to the more assured presentation and mature lyrics. This singer is considered an R&B phenomenon, as she knows the street life from her own experience and her texts are not that naïve as the works of other young performers. Keyshia Cole is regularly compared to Mary J. Blige not only because of the childhood in a poor district, but also for the unique reach vocals. No wonder, being only 26, Keyshia is known as the Princess of hip-hop soul.

Keyshia Cole’s third studio album A Different Me was released in the United States in December, 2008. The album focused less on heartache and more on maturity of Cole’s vocals and lyrics. All the songs on the album were written or co-written by Cole, among them: the lead single Playa Cardz Right, jazzed-up composition Make Me Over and the surprisingly saccharine This Is Us.

Studio Albums

Keyshia Cole, 11:11 Reset mp311:11 Reset
2017
  • Contemporary R&B
  • Pop Soul
Keyshia Cole, Point of No Return mp3Point of No Return
2014
  • Contemporary R&B
  • Pop Soul
Keyshia Cole, Woman to Woman mp3Woman to Woman
2012
  • Contemporary R&B
Keyshia Cole, Calling All Hearts mp3Calling All Hearts
There is room for personal feelings on Keyshia Cole's fourth record Calling All Hearts as well as for having fun but clearly it is love that the singer is willing to sing about most of all. Her music is always soulful, sincere and emotional
2010
  • Contemporary R&B
Keyshia Cole, A Different Me mp3A Different Me
The US R&B-soul performer Keyshia Cole recorded her third disc A Different Me. On this long-play, she not only radically changed the image, but also surprisingly diversified the emotional palette of her songs
2008
  • Contemporary R&B
  • Soul
  • Pop Soul
  • Hip Hop
Keyshia Cole, Just Like You mp3Just Like You
Keyshia Cole, a young American R&B singer, released her second long anticipated album Just Like You. This dics, decorated by Keyshia’s rich vocals, features wonderful tracks about different and sometimes weird edges of relations
2007
  • Contemporary R&B
  • Neo-Soul
  • Hip Hop
Keyshia Cole, The Way It Is mp3The Way It Is
Keyshia Cole proves that she deserves all-star R&B treatment with her riveting debut, The Way It Is. She knew the streets, and that inner-city viewpoint informs many of her songs, which are generally a bit rougher and less naïve than those of yo
2005
  • Contemporary R&B

Singles

Keyshia Cole, I Don't Wanna Be In Love mp3I Don't Wanna Be In Love
2021
  • Contemporary R&B
  • Smooth Soul