Alicia Keys sang a mesmerizing live cut of “Raise a Man” but a feature from her eight-year-old son Egypt really stole the show! Keys opened the iHeartRadio Music Awards with a soulful take on the single, and then Egypt walked onstage during the bridge to jam out on piano. The touching family moment was completed by Keys’ husband Swizz Beatz and their younger son Genesis proudly watching from the audience.
Keys then moved to piano and then sang her hit “You Don’t Know My Name” while Egypt continued to play on a piano behind her. It won’t surprise The Music Man readers to hear that Keys was totally on point live with her vocals and that she really brought a ton of passion to the performance. Egypt can really play too and kept a steady groove on piano while the band added a tasteful accompaniment.
Keys performed the medley at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which took place on March 14 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The performance proved to be popular online, and it gained 5.7 million views on YouTube. Fans were mighty impressed with what Keys delivered on the night and added comments such as “Best artist ever. Humble and keeps it classy – I absolutely love her style” and “There’s so much love shown between Alicia and Egypt. It warms my heart and I can’t stop smiling.”
Egypt has been working on his musical chops in the years since the iHeartRadio Music Awards medley. Fans got another chance to hear him collab with his mom in December 2022, when the pair performed Keys’ song “Not Even the King” on piano. Keys took the vocal and played the bassline on piano, while Egypt played the melody line on the same piano.
2022 was a busy year for Egypt, as he also appeared onstage at Keys’ show in Mannheim, Germany. In front of 17,000 fans, Egypt played a solo piano performance, without accompaniment from his mum this time. He played “il vento d’oro” from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, “Merry-Go-Round of Life” from Howl’s Moving Castle, and the Game of Thrones theme.
The Music Man readers may note that Egypt had really honed his skills as a musician by this point, as the songs he played in Mannheim required some fast and complex playing. No points for guessing where young Egypt got his talent from!