Latest Release
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- DEC 15, 2023
- 1 Song
- The Way It Is · 2005
- Just Like You · 2007
- Just Like You (Bonus Track Version) · 2007
- A Different Me · 2008
- The Makings of a Man · 2007
- Just Like You · 2007
- A Different Me · 2008
- The Way It Is · 2005
- Press Play · 2006
- Woman to Woman (Deluxe Version) · 2012
Essential Albums
- On The Way It Is Keyshia Cole demands respect while baring her soul—charting the ins and outs of heartbreak and mistrust over powerful beats and string-assisted R&B. She bites back at an unfaithful ex on the searing, Kanye West-produced "I Changed My Mind," while "I Should Have Cheated" splices revenge fantasy with the pain of being falsely accused. Dreamy but insistent, Cole digs deep into the psyche of a lover scorned on this fearless and compelling debut.
Albums
- 2017
Artist Playlists
- Hard-earned wisdom and resilience from a big-voiced R&B survivor.
Appears On
More To Hear
- Celebrate “looooooove” by singing this at the top of your lungs.
- Two of 2000s R&B's most recognizable voices compare catalogs.
About Keyshia Cole
Keyshia Cole has the range. It’s in her style, which bridges R&B’s earnestness to hip-hop’s realness. It’s in her unbridled emotion, which rings true whether she’s wounded or hopeful. And, of course, it’s in her throaty voice, powerful at both a quaver and a wail. The Oakland singer (born in 1981) started her career early, immersed in rap. After cold-calling MC Hammer at age 12, the local hero gave her a shot at studio backing vocals. Three years later, in 1996, she was set to record with 2Pac when he was gunned down. When Cole at last found her own spotlight, it was over a Kanye West beat on 2004’s “I Changed My Mind,” an ex-skewering anthem cowritten by John Legend. But it was the heartrending “Love” that exposed the softer side of her bluntly titled 2005 debut, The Way It Is. Cole explored that duality across her albums while also bringing more women into her circle: 2007’s Just Like You featured a club-ready slice of boisterous female empowerment co-starring both Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim (“Let It Go”), and 2008’s A Different Me included a duetted ode to devotion with Monica (“Trust”). Also on the latter album: a posthumous verse from 2Pac himself, underlining the fact that Cole frequently reversed the typical R&B singer and rapper relationship by featuring MCs on her tracks. She has blazed that trail ever since, commissioning verses from heavy hitters like Lil Wayne, Future, and Young Thug while singing on behalf of women who’ve been treated wrong or cheated on while seeking true love. Yes, Cole has range, but the strength she projects from every end of the spectrum is as unmistakable and unwavering as her voice.
- HOMETOWN
- Oakland, CA, United States
- BORN
- October 15, 1981
- GENRE
- R&B/Soul