A Look Back At Alicia Keys' Sweet Bond With Her Grandmother

Alicia Keys, whose real name is Alicia Augello Cook, has become known for her soulful, genre-splicing sound and stunningly powerful voice. Throughout her award-winning career, the singer has drawn inspiration from past soul singers like Marvin Gaye and fellow New Yorkers like Mary J. Blige. While she now ranks among these fellow music legends, her biggest inspiration remains closer to home.

Keys has opened up about how her paternal grandmother, Vergil DiSalvatore, has shaped both her life and her music. Even though DiSalvatore, known to Keys as Nana, passed away in 2006, she maintains an important place in the "Girl On Fire" singer's life. "My grandmother is still a rock in my life, even still to this day," she told Business Insider in 2012.

"I think we have such beautiful, unique relationships with our grandparents and they occupy a certain space in our lives that no one else can. She definitely did for me." Keys' sweet bond with her grandmother not only shaped her life but also inspired multiple professional endeavors from the musical artist.

During a 2019 "Red Table Talk" interview, Alicia Keys opened up about her relationship with her late grandma, reflecting on the period before she passed away. "When she was dying, she lived with me and it was amazing because all my life she had taken care of me and she was so elegant and strong and fierce and sincere," the singer shared. "I knew I wasn't going to have her much longer and I started thinking about mortality a lot."

Keys also talked about being present for her Nana's final months with the Independent back in 2007, revealing that it required her to slow down her fast-paced, musician lifestyle. Even so, the "If I Ain't Got You" singer was overwhelmingly glad she took the beat for her family. "I was able to spend some of the most precious time with her ever," she said. "And I grew. And grew up. I learnt a lot – about family, about who's there for me, who's not."

This impactful experience served as inspiration for the songs "Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)" and "Like You'll Never See Me Again," two tracks that appeared on Keys' 2007 album "As I Am." 

Alicia Keys has explored many endeavors outside of her musical career, ranging from her philanthropic efforts to the skincare line you didn't realize the singer started. Back in 2012, Keys even partnered with her company AK Worldwide and Bento Box Interactive to launch an interactive, storytelling app called "The Journals of Mama Mae & Lee Lee."

The story featured in the now-unavailable app was inspired by the "Smokin' Aces" star's relationship with her grandmother, though the idea for an app originally came to her after she became a mother herself. If you're unfamiliar, Keys welcomed her first-born son Egypt, who she shares with her music producer husband Swizz Beatz, in 2010. "I was seeing the different things that I wanted to bring into his life," the artist told Entertainment Weekly. "Different DVDs or different TV shows that were on — I was realizing how cool it would [be] to bring multifaceted, multicultural music and stories into his world."

Keys talked about how the character of Mama Mae was inspired by her own Nana when talking to Business Insider, providing some insight into the singer's sweet bond with her grandmother. "The character of Mama Mae in the app is really her essence," she said. "That loving, strong kind of ever-present positive, powerful person."