ROC4LIFE

Alicia Keys’ fifth studio album currently sits on top of the Billboard 200, with 161,000 units sold in the first week. Now the 14-time Grammy-winning artist/AIDS activist/wife/mom is adding to her accolades by landing a cover on the latest issue of Essence.

Wearing a sexy, red two-piece dress, Keys talks about Hurricane Sandy, motherhood, career and more. Excerpts below.

On Sandy:
“After the third or fourth tuna fish sandwich, and after we learned we’d be without power for a week, I called my mother, who lives Uptown. She was okay and hadn’t lost any power, so we ended up going to her house. We were pretty lucky.”

On not being Superwoman:
“It’s okay if I can’t do every single thing. I finally understand that it doesn’t make me a lesser artist or human being.”

— Rae Holliday