Whatever Happened to Keke Wyatt?
Songs like My First Love and Nothing in This World introduced many of us to Keke Wyatt the soulful singer and song writer. She had one of the strongest and most promising voices in the early noughties, but in 2001 weeks after her debut album Soul Sista was released there were reports about a domestic dispute between Keke and her husband. For years we heard little about Keke or her music, despite her being signed to Cash Money in 2004 and later TVT in 2006. Soon people were asking what ever happened to Keke Wyatt.
With a new album, a new label and an end to her marriage (Keke is in the process of divorcing her abusive husband) Who Knew? is a testament to Keke’s perseverance despite the setbacks she faced. In 2005 when Katrina hit New Orleans Keke’s master recordings were literally wiped out. Then in 2007 only a year after signing with TVT, Keke’s follow up album Ghetto Rose was shelved after her label went bankrupt leaving her disappointed “I was like come on, what is going on?” However, she was a firm believer that if it was meant to happen for her then it would.
Fortunately she signed with Shanachie in November of last year and released her album in February taking the number two spot on iTunes. Besides the successful lead single, Who Knew?, Keke favours two tracks in particular “My favourite songs on the album are Day Dreaming and Weakest because they show a more sexy and sensual side that people aren’t really used to. I definitely want to showcase that it just makes me feel more like a woman.”
Unimpressed by the music offering currently saturating the airways, Keke plans to bring back “the true meaning of r&b.” But does real r&b still exist? “It’s out here but you have to find it” answers Keke. She then laments, “I don’t want to have to find it. I have a fan base and I’m going to do r&b—what they’re used to—and give it to them so [they] don’t have to go searching for it.”
Keke speaks candidly about the physical abuse she suffered at the hand of her husband and manager Rahmat Morton during their marriage. “I was with him for ten years and it just never got better it literally got worse. Maybe a year or two would go by and it seems like everything is okay but all it takes is one little something and he’ll blow up.” She urges women in similar situations to “seek help and find the support you need to leave an abusive relationship“. I’m completely shocked when she recounts the bruises she got from her husband before the Who Knew? video shoot “I had bruises around my throat, on my arms, up my back, my shoulders and everything. It was ridiculous and I’m like ‘I have to go to work stop it’ I thought that it was pitiful.” Perhaps this is why the single title is most ironic because who knew all this was happening to Keke Wyatt?
Despite the heartache Keke finds joy in her music and raising her children. She talks about her favourite musicians like Donnie Hathaway, Shania Twain and Patti Labelle. She also mentions that What’s Love Got to Do With it is one of her favourite films. There are similarities in both her story and that of Tina Turner, but most importantly she got out before it was too late! Hopefully Keke will have an equally –if not more—successful career ahead of her.
Keke plans to do a duet album with Avant before the end of 2010. She’s also pursuing acting opportunities and other creative ventures this year.
Who Knew? is available on iTunes, Amazon.com and HMV.
