Keyshia Cole

Hugely successful Grammy nominated R&B singer and songwriter KEYSHIA COLE is set to close out 2008 with a bang. Three (3) songs from her second album reached number one (#1) status -- “Let It Go” (w/Missy Elliott and Lil Kim), “I Remember” and “Heaven Sent.” Her reality show “The Way It Is” became the most-watched program in BET’s history, and with season three having started yesterday, November 11th, Keyshia Cole is sure to make history again. Keyshia’s third album, A Different Me – Executive Produced by Keyshia, Manager Manny Halley and Geffen Records Chairman Ron Fair is set for release on Tuesday, December 16, 2008.

KEYSHIA COLE is the definitive soul singer to emerge in this decade, and she is in good company. Over the past seven decades, precious few R & B females have touched the hearts of America. From Billie Holiday to Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston, and Mary J. Blige - Keyshia possesses the same innate quality of telling the truth through song like her predecessors. Her pain becomes your pain, her joy, your joy.

Her first single, “Playa Cardz Right” featuring Tupac (an early mentor of Cole’s) has already garnered a top 15 chart position in its first three weeks. This single follows a host of seven (7) number one (#1) records that include “I Should Have Cheated;” “Love,” “Let it Go,” “I Remember,” “Heaven Sent,” “Last Night” (w/P. Diddy) and “Give it Up to Me” (w/Sean Paul.)

All of the songs for A Different Me were written or co-written by Keyshia with production from award-winning producers such as Ron Fair, Polow Da Don, the Trackmasters, The Runners, Kwame and Neffu. Guest appearances include Kanye West, Nas, a duet with Monica, and a posthumous appearance from Tupac.

Keyshia was nominated for two Grammy awards in 2007 for “Best Contemporary R&B Album” for “Just Like You” and “Best Rap-Sung Collaboration” for “Let it Go” (w/Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim).

She has also received awards and or nominations from the American Music Awards, Music Choice Awards, NAACP Awards, BET Awards, Vibe Awards, and ASCAP Awards.

Born in 1981 in Oakland, California, Keyshia didn’t have it easy. The Cole’s adopted her after her mother Frankie, an addict at the time, could no longer take care of her. Twenty plus years later, she is still trying to put all of the pieces of the puzzle we call life together – discovering long lost siblings, mending the relationship with her mother who was recently released from jail and supporting her sister, Neffe, and her four children.

The road to riches wasn’t easy for Keyshia and still isn’t. Besides the release of a new album, new season of her BET reality show, touring and personal appearances, Keyshia is gearing up for the production of a movie based on her life. Be sure to catch her on BET every Tuesday night at 10PM.

One of the more genuine urban songstresses out there in the mid-2000s, Keyshia Cole worked her way up the industry ladder diligently yet quickly, making her major-label debut in 2004 at age 21. Born on the other side of the California Bay -- the often tough and troubled streets of Oakland -- Cole aspired from an early age to make music her life, so much so that she started working the angles while still a preteen. For instance, she did some recording with fellow Bay Area resident MC Hammer way back in the day, when she was only 12 or so. Her singing aspirations really began to take flight during the early 2000s, however. In particular, she sang on Messy Marv's "Nubian Queen" remix in 2001, and Tony! Toni! Toné! member Dwayne Wiggins featured her on his soundtrack to the film Me & Mrs. Jones, also in 2001.

Following Bay Area opportunities such as these, she began contemplating a leap for the big time: Los Angeles. So when she discovered that her then-boyfriend had cheated on her, she immediately packed her bags and never looked back. In Los Angeles she quickly impressed many with her golden soprano voice and thus made plenty of industry contacts, among them A&M Records president Ron Fair, who immediately signed her to a solo deal. And to work she went on her debut album, The Way It Is, co-writing a number of songs and working alongside a number of hitmakers: the trendiest talent in hip-hop at the time, Kanye West, collaborated with her on "I Changed My Mind," the album's lead single, and other big-name collaborators included 112 group member DaRon, Murder Inc. rapper Chink Santana, and veteran producer E-Poppi. Plus, she got the chance to collaborate with one of her inspirations, Eve, for a song on the Barbershop 2 soundtrack, "Never," which was released as a single in early 2004.

When A&M/Interscope was ready to release The Way It Is in the spring of 2005, Cole found herself positioned alongside fellow young urban female singers like Brandy, Monica, and Beyoncé. Yet Cole had an edge over her peers -- a street edge. Having grown up in Oakland and lived there most of her young life, she knew life wasn't all glitter and gold like it was in Hollywood. 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 your typical young female urban vocalist. Two singles released from The Way It Is, "I Should Have Cheated" and "Love," reached the Top Ten of the R&B chart, and the album eventually sold a million copies in the U.S. The wait for her second album, 2007's Just Like You, was broken up by memorable appearances on Diddy's Press Play ("Last Night") and R. Kelly's Double Up ("Best Friend"). The album was a smash, topping the R&B albums chart and missing the top of the Billboard 200 by one spot, and its release coincided with a BET reality series of the same name. Just after its second season started, in late 2008, Cole issued her third album, A Different Me. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide