Since the dawn of her career, Alicia Keys has been a critically-acclaimed musician who has presented her splendid talents as a fierce piano prodigy, a paradigm of self-empowerment, and an appraised soul singer.

With a musical career that includes twelve Grammy Awards and over 30 million records sold worldwide, it appears that Keys is now embarking on a new journey inside her heart.

The Element of Freedom, her fourth studio album, proves that by delivering tender bedroom-inclined songs which are book-ended by an intro and outro.

As Keys finally addresses her new-found freedom, she also seeks to slowly transition from her streetwise sound and endeavor a new go-to pop sound that we have never heard from

Keys before. “Love is a Disease,” exhilarates a raw and brave performance that marks a surprising shift in Keys’ style. She is emotional, vulnerable, and compelling to the point of making you uncomfortably close to her heartache.

In addition, there is something rigid yet sturdy about these songs, as though their hard shells are covering a delicate soft spot that Keys is not ready to expose just yet. It also seems that the album is channeling some of the intensity of Kanye West “808s & Heartbreak” especially the thunderous drum loops in “Love is Blind.”

The album opens with a brief spoken word which guides listeners into the gracious hands of “Love is Blind,” a standout song that discusses a love so deep that sometimes you miss flaws in a person because of the strong feelings that you experience with them.Other standout tracks include

“Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart,” is a little heavier on the production side but is an even more impressive song, allowing Keys’ strong vocals to mesh with the backing track.

Showing off his own versatility, Drake delivers some background vocals alongside Keys on “Unthinkable (I’m Ready),” one of the album’s undeniable standout hits which depicts the contemplation of falling in love. 

Next, soft piano keys opens “Doesn’t Mean Anything,” which resorts to the  cliché and remnants of “No One from her 2007 album “As I Am.” With Jay-Z missing in action, Keys goes solo on “Empire State of Mind (Part II),” which opens to strains of the hook she sang on the version they recorded together.

While I applaud her willingness to be free with trying new songs with this album, some things just did not work. Note, “Put it In a Love Song,” featuring BeYonce in high-vamping mode is a cheesy song in which it tries to correlate these two amazing voices together, but fails horribly. Keys, who co-wrote all but one of the 14 songs, worked with producers like Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, Jeff Bhasker, Swizz Beatz, Noah “40” Shebib.

“The Element of Freedom,” releases Keys’ ability to stand up and be herself. Though she stepped out on a limb with this album, she has proven that she is not afraid to broaden her horizon and extend her music to a whole new audience.

Notably, the album succeeds on the strength of Keys’ voice and songwriting and is a solid album that takes a backseat to her elegant and classical productions for the past. However, if you want an artist who makes you feel, you want Alicia Keys, and you want “The Element of Freedom.”  

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• Chelsea King