Keke Wyatt is putting herself first.
“I have allowed people to come into my life and make me live it their way. I’m like, ‘No, it’s about Keke now,’” the mother of 11 declares to Rated R&B.
Wyatt’s fifth album, Certified, is out today (June 28) via Shanachie Ent. It is a testament to her new mindset and life since its predecessor, 2016’s Rated Love. Wyatt worked closely with renowned producer Blac Elvis (Beyoncé, Usher, Ciara) to construct one of her most personal and expansive albums to date.
“When I go to the studio, I’m going to write about whatever I’m going through at that moment. That’s just how I am. So it’s kind of a way of me telling all of my damn business,” she shares.
When asked what inspired the project, Wyatt candidly says, “Being in a whack-ass marriage and figuring out who I really am.”
She continues, “I think as women, sometimes we get lost in our real lives that we forget who we are as creators and artists. I have found Keke again — not only Keke but Ketara Shavon. That’s who I found in this album.”
On the opening track, “My Ex,” Wyatt doesn’t waste time setting the record straight for a prospective lover. Lyrically, she asserts that she is looking for a man to bring something to the table.
“I don’t wanna have to ask / I don’t wanna have to tell you what I want / You should know / And I know I got my own / But I want to keep it all and spend yours,” she sings. This sort of directness permeates throughout the album.
Wyatt interpolates Sparkle’s “Be Careful” on the forewarning “Somebody,” where she confronts a no-good lover. “That one was based on [when] you’re with somebody, and they kind of forget who you are,” Wyatt explains. “So it’s like, you better be careful what you’re doing to me because what you’re doing to me, somebody’s going to do it to you. You got to tell people when they’re hurting you physically, emotionally, [and] verbally [that] Karma is truly that girl.”
Songs like “Come Back To Bed” explore longing and disconnection, with Wyatt yearning for intimacy over her man’s obsessive video game habits.
“I don’t want to sit and watch you play video games all day when you a grown man,” Wyatt states. “Like, get in bed. But see, they don’t understand until somebody else is laying in their bed or you [are] laying in somebody else’s bed.”
The album’s lead single, “Water Into Wine,” finds Wyatt bewildered as she tries to understand her lover’s intentions. “Some men I’ve dealt with think that you just can do everything, and you’re supposed to do everything,” she shares. “Like, dude, like, what do you want from me? I’m not, God. I’m not Jesus. I don’t specialize in making miracles. All I got is what I got. All I am is me.”
Even when navigating through the ebb and flow of love, Wyatt doesn’t restrict herself to one style of music on Certified. She dabbles with reggae on “Scared,” where she’s ready to call a relationship quits, doo-wop (“Open”), and traces of gospel (“Deliver Me”), though the latter track isn’t technically a gospel song.
“Deliver Me” is, however, the most poignant song on the album, making it an ideal closing track. “It’s got that feel, but it’s not gospel. It is inspirational,” shares Wyatt. “I love that song because I was extremely vulnerable.”
The piano ballad is so personal that Wyatt contemplated adding it to the album. “I was afraid to put it on there because people can be very judgmental. But I just put on my big girl draws and put it on there. I’m just like everybody else, so if I could just be honest, like, ‘Hey, I’m following down the path, and somebody else paved the way. I didn’t pave it. I’m walking down the road they paved.’ That song was a very vulnerable song for me — extremely vulnerable.”
When asked what she hopes listeners will take away from Certified, Wyatt concludes, “I hope that they are inspired and that whoever is in the same situation that I was in, gets free of that mess. I hope it brings a season of freedom.”
Stream Keke Wyatt’s new album, Certified, below.
