D Smoke recently recalled how he came to work with Alicia Keys and eventually join the legendary singer on tour. Smoke, who won Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow in 2019, was nominated for Best Rap Album and Best New Artist at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards after the release of his debut album Black Habits.
Smoke says that after messaging Keys, she invited him to a video shoot, where Swizz Beatz and Snoop Dogg were both on set.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
“I think I reached out to her as a fan and I thought she would be great to work with,” he said, according to HipHopDX in a piece published on Saturday. “I reached out and she invited me to her video shoot. Swizz Beatz was there, Snoop and his wife were there, everybody was there. She had this big, grand piano on his platform in the middle of the room. They were setting up another shot and I asked her if I could get up and play. She was like, ‘Please. Do you.’ So I was going ham into this classical piece, ‘Fantasie Impromptu’ and she’s over there, like, ‘What the f**k?’ She said, ‘N***a, I didn’t know.’ That’s when the wheels started turning and we knew we had to do something.”
From there, Keys invited Smoke to join him on THE ALICIA + KEYS WORLD TOUR, over the summer.
“She invited me to a show as her guest,” he says. “It was like a release party and afterward, I started off playing some classical music piano. Then she started playing some jazz stuff. Then she would play and I would play and it was just a dope musical exchange. So that moment was just a milestone for me because she is one of those people that influenced my artistry. And to be invited to perform with her on the Alicia and the Keys World Tour is just a blessing.”
Last month, D Smoke debuted a new record titled, “Glide,” on A Colors Show. Check out the performance below.
[Via]