ALICIA KEYS TALKS ABOUT BEING IN LOVE WITH SWIZZ BEATS

Alicia opens up to the magazine about the man who has her heart, Swizz Beatz, music and motherhood. This is her first interview and magazine cover since she had her son Egypt Daoud Dean.

"Falling in love is such a force, but this is a whole other level of magic..." --Alicia Keys

For the past decade, Grammy-winning songstress Alicia Keys has been riding a wave of unbroken success. Now, the princess of soul is set to release the tenth anniversary deluxe and collector's editions of her first album, "Songs in A Minor," due out this month.

Looking back on the scores of interviews she's done since her debut, you'll find plenty about her music and absolutely nothing about her love life.

But when a woman falls in love -- really in love -- well, that kind of love is hard to hide. Here, she opens up to ESSENCE about music, motherhood... and the man who has her heart.

She tells the mag:

“Falling in love is such a force, but this is a whole other level of magic.”

On music, marriage and motherhood: “I was very closed for a long time. But I feel so open now. To feel open like this means you’ve found the center in yourself. You’re not hiding; you’re not worried about anything. Everything’s going to be just fine.”

On dedicating a song to her mom: “In the past, I’ve written mostly from my own perspective. But I just wrote a song for my next album that was inspired by a conversation I had with a man who was expressing how indebted he feels to God. He said, ‘I owe God.’ Now, what an interesting thought. And as much as I believe in God, for me that translated into how much I owe my mother for who I am. So I went home and I wrote I Owe You. It’s dedicated to her…”

Essence magazine confesses that Alicia Keys has never been more open about anything in her past interviews.