("Never," her hit song from the Barbershop 2 soundtrack, is included.) Cole's voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama. ("Love," one of the positive songs, comes after the song where the punk gets dumped and before the song where he's called out for changing.) None of it's all that profound, but Cole sells it all extremely well, especially on "I Should Have Cheated," where she tires of an accusing and hypocritical lover ("I should go have my fun and do all the things you say I do"). From the opener, "(I Just Want It) To Be Over," the album seems to be set up like a linear narrative about a crumbling relationship, but it doesn't quite play out that way, with the scenes shuffled out of order. With only a couple exceptions, The Way It Is is about the ugly parts of a romantic relationship, so there's little room left for upbeat material. Cole had a hand in the writing of just about every track, and she has a number of major players - Kanye West, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Mya), E-Poppi (Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child) - in her corner. As a foster child growing up in Oakland, she went through a lot of downs, and from the sounds of The Way It Is, her first album, she's had her share of complex relationships. Buy the album Starting at £13.99Īn advantage Keyshia Cole has over a lot of her young contemporaries is experience.
Keyshia Michelle Cole grew up in Oukland in the state of California.Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs. 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.