Keyshia Cole

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.