On first glance, it seems fitting that Alicia Keys should play Philippa Schuyler in an upcoming biographical movie about her. Like the late classical pianist, Keys is biracial (half-black, half-white) and was a child musical prodigy whose gifts were strongly supported by her parents (in Keys’ case, her mother, who raised her alone in the rough Hell’s Kitchen district in New York).

But Schuyler, throughout her short life, was constantly in conflict about her race and place in society, mostly due to her mother trying to pass her off as “white enough” to make it in classical music. “This left Philippa not knowing where she belonged,” Keys says in an e-mail interview. “This story is so much about finding your place in the world: Where do we really fit in, in a world so full of boxes and categories?”

Keys, on the other hand, seems to have had a good idea about what she wanted from a very young age. When her phenomenal skills got her a contract with Columbia Records at the age of 16, she immediately pulled out when she realized she would be sacrificing her musical freedom with the label.

More tellingly, after music impresario Clive Davis’ nasty divorce with Arista Records, she followed Davis–one of few music moguls these days who allows his artists to grow–onto his new label, J Records, even if Arista would have, at the time, seemed like a more secure choice. But Keys had things she wanted to say, and she was going to do everything she could to be given the opportunity to do so.

“I am a mixture of many things. I grew up surrounded by and living the very harsh reality of city life. There is a certain mind-state you are forced to have and a certain innocence lost. To me, how I grew up and my love for old school R&B both stem from honesty and experience that need to be spoken on,” she says.

Soon after signing with J Records she dropped the multiplatinum-selling Songs in A Minor, and an impressive new talent had been established. But amazingly, shifting units didn’t go to the young woman’s head. When the general impression in the music industry is that you need to release a new album every year or two or people will forget about you, she bided her time before releasing her highly praised sophomore effort, Diary of Alicia Keys.

“The industry worries about timelines and such, but for me music is about a feeling,” Keys says. “The more I live and learn, the more I write, and the better I get at writing what I really want to say.”

Her words ring true when you compare her two albums.

While Songs in A Minor sometimes crossed too much into a slick, pop territory, Keys has considerably improved in her handling of the ’70s soul vibe she showed hints of in her debut–in the process creating a genuine soul classic in “You Don’t Know My Name” (and garnering her a Source award earlier this week for Female R&B Artist of the Year). When too much contemporary R&B depends on empty lyrics and slick production, the 23-year-old chanteuse’s modesty and honest soulfulness is a breath of fresh air.

“I think…there was more excitement in Motown R&B (compared to modern R&. More structure in the songs and more heart put into it. People sang because they loved to and wanted the world to know it, not only to make a dollar or to become famous,” Keys says.

The world knows about her passion, all right–Keys has toured tirelessly in the last year, perhaps even more vigorously than she did with her debut album. She’s extended her venues to countries across Asia, and will make up for not having been able to perform in Japan following the release of her first album.

“I was only able to come to Japan for promotion…but by the time I was able to make it (here), I had to decide between touring more, or making a new record,” she says. “Now there are more songs to experience, and I am much wiser and better at my craft.Japan is getting the best of me so far.”

And Japan has been busy getting ready for her.

Her Diary has been re-released exclusively for Japan with several remixes of songs (but unfortunately not a single new song, nor the “My Boo” duet with Usher–you’ll have to get Usher’s rerelease for that track). Meanwhile, her tickets have been selling briskly in reflection of her great popularity here.

Keys, for her part, feels she’s completely ready for Japanese audiences. If anything, her recent performance during a historic concert at the Great Wall of China has made her realize that wherever she is in the world, fans will give her the same kind of love.

“No matter where I go…I see faces of people searching and loving the way music feels in their bones,” she says. “They told me to expect a very reserved audience (in China), but they weren’t reserved at all. They were on fire and ready to party!”

While she should expect a similar reception in Japan, what can fans here expect from her?

Maybe she’ll present some of the new songs she’s been working on for her next release–which she says will be “more socially and politically conscious” and will “have more guitars and distortion, old-school rock and roll and blues mixed with the future.”

But for the upcoming performances, she’s saying nothing.

“You want to know all my secrets, huh? Well let me just say this, you are in for a big surprise. I plan to turn you around and wrap you up in one of the greatest journeys of your life.”

Thx 2 txga