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Only this time, Keys wasn’t singing one of her beautiful melodies but instead, traded in her inspirational lyrics for the motivating words written in the Scholastic book, “Come On, Rain!”
“Come on, rain! I say,” read Keys. “Mamma lifts a listless vine and sighs, ‘Three weeks and not a drop,” she says, sagging over her parched pants. The overflowing crowd at the NBA’s Read to Achieve area at Jam Session Presented by Fleer was clearly digging what Alica was reading.
“That was really nice,” said 15-year-old Brandy Conway of Philadelphia who was sitting on a basketball beanbag during the reading. “I really like her music and her song “Butterflyz” is my favorite. I thought she did great.”
Keys also read a second Scholastic book, titled, “The Ant Bully.” As she read, emcee Chuck Nilosek, who whipped the crowd in a frenzy with his comedy, warm-up act prior to her arrival, turned the pages. After Keys finished her reading session, she led the crowd in reciting the NBA’s Read to Achieve pledge and then patiently signed autographs and answered questions to the swell of fans that greeted her at the stage.
“It was cool,” said the 21-year-old Keys. “I could have read to them all day. I figured I had to get out of there and let someone else come and spread some love. We had some fun.”
Keys was among several artists and players who made the visit to the NBA’s Read to Achieve area. Other celebrities who read Scholastic books to kids since Jam Session opened on Thursday, include Carson Daly of MTV, actors Jamie Foxx and Michael Imperioli and NBA All-Stars, Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings and Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker of the Boston Celtics. Even Scholastic’s Clifford the Big Red Dog and Franklin the Turtle paid a visit, hanging out with the kids.
Keys, whose album “Songs In A Minor” was released in June of 2001 and reached No. 1, obviously loves the written word. For her, she enjoys what reading a book provides.
“Reading for me is something that I love to do,” said Keys, who performed at the NBA’s Read to Achieve Celebration on Saturday morning. “It’s a way to expand, to escape and take time for myself and to get some different ideas.”
And Keys was more than happy to share the love with her fans and spread the important message of reading to them.
“Reading expands their minds, makes them imagine and dream and learn about new places and things maybe they never thought of before.”
