November 13th, 2012 | Posted by Binky | Posted In Gallery,Magazine Covers

With her fifth studio album, Girl on Fire, set to drop on November 27, it would be an understatement to say that Alicia Keys has been hot on the promo trail.

Now the latest edition to that whirlwind of press and appearances is the December/January issue of Complex Magazine. Miss Keys graces the cover and opens up inside about everything from motherhood to songwriting, and even her thoughts on Frank Ocean.

On how motherhood changed her:

Motherhood was a big part of me breaking free. Before I gave birth to Egypt, there was a certain energy of wanting to fix things. Women want to clean stuff up before the baby comes. I refused to be in any circumstance that would give negative energy to this. That was what pushed me over the edge. It was becoming a woman. I was a girl, and now I’m a woman.

On not getting too personal with her songwriting:

The whole freaking world is looking at your shit. It’s scary. I didn’t want to say every single thing because you don’t want people to know that. There’s personal and there’s public, and I deserve the right to have a personal space.

On Frank Ocean:

That was super brave and I’m so glad that he wrote it. He is the voice for so many people. We’re all boxed in to these stupid things that we’re taught is the way we’re supposed to be and it’s so ridiculous. There are so many people that need a champion to assure them that no matter who you are, you are a beautiful person. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re talented or intelligent. Thank God that we have come to this place where we can actually know and be more open to the fact that people come in all different ways. And that’s great because it’s a very boring world otherwise.

If you want to get even more in-depth with Alicia, you can read the full interview over at Complex. Also, make sure to check out the gorgeous pics from the article below, and post your thoughts!

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