Saturday, 10 July 2010

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Alicia Keys: I grew up around drugs and gangs

Singer opens up about rough childhood

Alicia Keys carried a knife to school

Alicia Keys admits she could have turned to a life of crime had it not been for her music.

The singer was raised in the notorious Hell's Kitchen area of New York.

‘Growing up for me was tough,' explains Alicia, 29. 'I could have gone any way.

‘I grew up around drugs and gangs and I knew kids who got involved in both.'

Alicia - who even carried a knife to school for protection - has also credited her family with keeping her on the right side of the law. 

‘I was lucky that I had my mother and my grandmother,' she tells Fabulous.

‘I was a tough kid but I didn't want that to be my future. It makes me sad to think that some of my friends had no escape.'

Hannah Crockart