Keke Palmer's 'Just Keke' album channels public relationship drama into reclamation

NEW YORK -- A sheer formal silhouetting a achromatic assemblage suit, Usher’s signature assemblage enactment and a tweet from her child’s father: that concoction created a astir two-week societal media frenzy starring Keke Palmer backmost successful 2023. Now, the multi-hyphenate creative has channeled that acquisition into her caller album, “Just Keke.”

“It was pugnacious … I didn’t adjacent recognize I was successful specified grief,” said the 31-year-old astir the fallout of her highly nationalist breakup with her ex, Darius Jackson. “I get to enactment that aforesaid emotion into a song, and I get archer those radical that’s been watching maine since I was nine … what’s going connected successful a mode that it tin translate.”

Following 2023’s “Big Boss,” her 3rd solo workplace project, retired now, is an 18-track ocular medium conceptualized and directed by Palmer and her team. Tayla Parx, who’s written for Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber and Dua Lipa, handled the bulk of the penning and enforcement produced with Palmer. The storyline follows Palmer musically navigating celebrity, motherhood and self-reflection. But her vulnerability astir her well-publicized narration play is the album’s throughline.

“That’s what artistry is … excavation is astir transmutation, it’s astir bringing closure,” said Palmer, who’s usually mum astir her romanticist relationships. “I person to code thing that I would ne'er address, particularly thing connected an intimate level — that’s conscionable truthful not me. But I knew that I had to due to the fact that present that it’s go public, it’s go a portion of my work, and I person to respond to it arsenic such. And that conscionable caused maine to person to grow.”

While attending Usher’s fashionable Las Vegas residency successful 2023, the Emmy victor danced intimately with the euphony icon during his regular assemblage enactment segment. Social videos of the enactment prompted a viral tweet from Jackson, her ex-boyfriend and child’s father, criticizing her attire, writing, “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.”

While helium was rapidly admonished online, the speech yet moved beyond societal media to articles and deliberation pieces tackling subjects ranging from patriarchy, women’s attire, and having children earlier marriage.

Standout tracks connected “Just Keke” see “My Confession” — a tongue-in-cheek interpolation of Usher’s deed "Confessions, Pt. II" — arsenic good arsenic the antecedently released "125 Degrees” and “Off Script.” She passionately belts retired her emotion connected the ballad “Unless It’s You,” portion “Misunderstood” finds her asking, “Don’t you spot maine throwing retired a lifeline? / You excessively engaged pinning maine the atrocious feline / Maybe we ain’t doing what we should / oregon possibly we’re conscionable misunderstood.”

“What the project, I think, speaks to arsenic good is conscionable similar reclamation,” said the “Nope” star, admitting the medium could reignite disapproval astir her idiosyncratic life. “I’m conscionable Keke, hatred it oregon emotion it. This is me, this is my story, this is however I spot things, I spot my beingness … the full constituent of it, too, is making bid with conscionable saying what you got to accidental and letting it beryllium that.”

While Palmer’s mic is inactive hot, she’s highly booked and engaged connected Hollywood lots: a sequel to “One of Them Days,” and she stars with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson successful “The Pickup” from Prime Video successful August. The “Akeelah and the Bee” histrion volition pb Peacock’s upcoming TV adaptation of Mel Brook’s “The ’Burbs,” and she’ll articulation the squad connected “Spaceballs 2” with archetypal stars Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis, the second a reclusive ‘80s and ’90s prima who’s since mostly stayed retired of Hollywood.

Palmer says she’ll justice the occurrence of “Just Keke” not needfully by income oregon Billboard charts, but by imaginable opportunities that arise, whether it’s creating and directing ocular albums for different artists, helming her ain philharmonic and comedic assortment show, oregon adjacent embarking connected her ain satellite tour.

“It could look similar truthful galore things, and I’m unfastened to each of them,” said Palmer. “As agelong arsenic I cognize that I enactment my each into this, I cognize I can’t lose.”

___

Follow Associated Press amusement writer Gary Gerard Hamilton astatine @GaryGHamilton connected each his societal media platforms.