Kerry Brothers, Jr. better known as "Krucial" or, as Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

 often referred to him, "K" is Multi-Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning producer who is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, executive producer

Executive producer

An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

 and record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, who was once rumored to be the boyfriend of multiple Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

-winning R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 and soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

, with whom he has worked on her four multi-platinum albums Songs in A Minor

Songs in A Minor

Songs in A Minor is the debut studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on June 5, 2001 by J Records. After graduating from high school, Keys signed with Columbia Records to begin her music career. She recorded an album in 1998 under the label,...

 (2001), The Diary of Alicia Keys

The Diary of Alicia Keys

The Diary of Alicia Keys is the second studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on December 2, 2003 by J Records...

 (2003), As I Am

As I Am

As I Am is the third studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on November 13, 2007 by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 2005 to 2007...

 (2007) and The Element of Freedom

The Element of Freedom

Keys began working on the album in May 2009. During this time, Keys and her audio engineer bought several vintage keyboards, describing the Moog as her "special best friend". Recording took place in The Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Keys expressed that she "didn't know what to do" when she...

 (2009). Brothers and Keys are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, an independent music production company, and they also co-own a Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

-based recording studio named The Oven Studios. In addition to Keys, he has worked with R&B and hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 artists like Mario, Rakim

Rakim

William Michael Griffin Jr. , known by his stage names Rakim , Rakim Allah, R.A.K.I.M., and The Master, is an American rapper. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled emcees of all time. Eric B...

, Angie Stone

Angie Stone

Angie Stone is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She has been nominated for three Grammy Award. She is more successful on the charts R&B charts, with four Top 10 albums, forms including a number one album and 10 singles on the R&B chart,...

, Nas

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

, Keyshia Cole

Keyshia Cole

Keyshia Myeshia Cole Gibson born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her sophomore album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007...

, Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton

Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...

 and rising stars Drake

Drake (entertainer)

Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

 and K'naan

K'naan

K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...

. In a prolific musical partnership with Keys that first developed in the early 1990s, Brothers helped write and produce a number of tracks for her debut and second albums, Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys, respectively, which have both sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Brothers has produced, written, arranged, and composed songs that have appeared on motion picture soundtracks such as Dr. Dolittle

Dr. Dolittle (film)

Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals...

, Drumline

Drumline (film)

Drumline is a 2002 American film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay, which was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline , was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps...

, Shaft

Shaft (2000 film)

Shaft is a 2000 American action-crime film directed by John Singleton, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Pat Hingle, Toni Collette, Busta Rhymes, Vanessa L. Williams, and Mekhi Phifer. This film is not a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, but rather a sequel,...

, and Ali

Ali (film)

Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...

. With his work with Keys, earned him three Grammy Awards; Best R&B Album

Grammy Award for Best R&B Album

The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre...

 (Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys), Best R&B Song

Grammy Award for Best R&B Song

The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance...

 ("No One").

Written songs with Alicia Keys

Brothers, Jr. co-wrote and co-produced songs of albums Alicia Keys; additional writers and producers are listed below.
Songs in A Minor

• "Troubles"
• "Rock wit U" (Taneisha Smith)
• "The Life" (Taneisha Smith)
• "Ghettoman" (Syl Johnson, Jimmy Jones, Bernard "Doss" Malik, Glenn Watts)
• "I Won't (Crazy World)"
• "Juiciest (Mixtape Version)" (James Mtume)
• "Typewriter"

The Diary of Alicia Keys

• "Karma" (Taneisha Smith)
• "Diary"
• "Wake Up"
• "When You Really Love Someone"

Unplugged

• "Stolen Moments" (Lamont Green, Wah Wah Watson)

As I Am

• "As I Am" (Intro)
• "Go Ahead" (Mark Batson, Marsha Ambrosius
  Marsha Ambrosius
  Marsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.-Early career with Floetry:...
  
  )
• "No One
  No One (Alicia Keys song)
  "No One" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys from her third studio album, As I Am. Written and produced by Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., and George M. Harry, and released as the album's lead single in September 2007...
  
  " (George D. Harry)
• "Like You'll Never See Me Again
  Like You'll Never See Me Again
  "Like You'll Never See Me Again" is a song by American R&B and soul singer–songwriter Alicia Keys from her third studio album, As I Am . Written and produced by Keys and Kerry Brothers, Jr., it was released in November 2007 as the album's second single...
  
  "
• "Where Do We Go from Here" (Mary Frierson, Johnnie Frierson)
• "Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)" (Novel Stevenson
  Novel (musician)
  Alonzo Mario Stevenson, professionally known as Novel, is an American hip-hop artist based in Los Angeles, California. He is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer...
  
  , Ron Haney, Paul L. Green, Steve Mostyn)

The Element of Freedom

• "Doesn't Mean Anything
  Doesn't Mean Anything
  "Doesn't Mean Anything" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It written and produced by Keys and longtime partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers for her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom , with its lyrics speaking about the importance of love against materialism and fake...
  
  "
• "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)
  Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)
  "Un-Thinkable " is a song performed by American recording artist Alicia Keys and has backing vocals provided by Canadian singer, Drake. According to Keys' it is the next single from her 2009 album, The Element of Freedom. It was initially scheduled to be the fifth single but will now impact as the...
  
  " (Aubrey "Drake" Graham
  Drake (entertainer)
  Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
  
  , Noah "40" Shebib)
• "Love Is My Disease" (Toby Gad, Melini Smith)
• "This Bed" (Mostyn)
• "Distance and Time" (Mostyn)
• "How It Feels to Fly"

Other Songs

• "Fight" (from Ali Ali Original Soundtrack
  Ali (film)
  Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...
  
  )
• "Rear View Mirror" (LaShawn Daniels, Green, Fred Jenkins, Rodney Jenkins) (from Dr. Dolittle 2 Original Soundtrack
  Dr. Dolittle 2
  Dr. Dolittle 2 is a 2001 American comedy film, and the theatrical sequel to the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle. The continuing tale of the doctor who can talk to the animals—this time, it's Dolittle versus Darwin when the animals launch a labor strike to protect their forest from unscrupulous human...
  
  )