Alicia Keys Says Swizz Beatz Initially Wasn't Her 'Vibe': 'He Loves A Lot Of Attention'

For those that don’t know, the term “the ick” means when your attraction to someone you’re dating suddenly turns into repulsion for that person.

“He definitely gave me the ick. I wasn’t with it. He just wasn’t my vibe,” Alicia said. “He’s pretty loud. He’s pretty over the top. He loves a lot of attention. Everywhere [there are] like a bunch of people,” she said.

But she soon realized that that was just her perception of him and when she got to know him better, her feelings changed. “Once I got to know who he actually was, I recognized that I was judging him on someone that I thought he was, not who he actually is. And that’s how the ick tide changed,” she revealed.

Both being from New York and making music, the two have been in each other’s lives since they were teenagers, but rumors about them dating didn’t start until 2008. Alicia recalled their first date in her 2020 memoir More Myself where she revealed the beginnings of their relationship.

“I finally agreed to have lunch,” she wrote, “I made a reservation for noon at an outdoor restaurant in downtown Manhattan. I arrived at twelve on the dot. Swizz was nowhere in sight. He finally came strutting in at 12:20.”

While showing up late can be looked at as a dealbreaker for many, Alicia later found out that Swizz’s reason for being late was actually quite thoughtful.

“As much as I wanted to stay mad at Swizz he lifted the mood with a steady stream of humor and fascinating conversation. Later as we approached my car I noticed something enormous attached to its top. He smiled. ‘That’s why I was late,’ he said.”

“It was a painting of a grand piano with paintbrushes attached to the keys. ‘When I saw this,’" he explained, ‘it seemed like the perfect representation of our friendship. You’re the keys, I’m the brushes.’"