KeKe Wyatt

Well-known as a reality television personality and actress, KeKe Wyatt is first and foremost a highly regarded singer and songwriter whose specialty is mature contemporary R&B infused with romance, positivity, and wisdom. That's the kind of music she has been making since she broke through as a teenager in 2001 with two Top 40 crossover hits beside Avant, first on a cover of René & Angela's "My First Love," and then with an original slow jam, "Nothing in This World." The latter appeared on Wyatt's gold-certified debut album, Soul Sista. Stage and screen pursuits, combined with subsequent label deals that didn't pan out, caused a long gap between her first and second albums, but she finally returned in 2010 with Who Knew?, highlighted by the charting title song. Wyatt has continued to refine her sophisticated approach to modern soul music with projects such as 2016's Rated Love, 2017's Keke Covers (featuring a popular remake of Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey"), and 2024's Certified.

R&B singer Ke'Tara Shavon Wyatt was born in Indianapolis, where she grew up listening to a variety of R&B and gospel. She came from a very musical family. Both of her parents sang in church; her mother was a vocalist, her father an organist. Wyatt's parents had her singing in church as a child but did not discourage her from pursuing a career in secular music. In fact, they exposed her to a lot of secular R&B at home. When Wyatt was in her early teens, she sang in various female groups, one of which was a very early version of Destiny's Child.

It was also during Wyatt's adolescence that the singer met her mentor, Steve "Stone" Huff, known for his work with the Isley Brothers, Joe, Avant, and other major R&B artists. Huff produced some demos for Wyatt and went about trying to get her a record deal. In 2000, she signed with MCA. That year, Huff brought Avant and Wyatt together for a remake of René & Angela's 1983 ballad "My First Love," which reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was included on Avant's platinum My Thoughts. In 2001, Huff produced Wyatt's Soul Sista and did much of the writing; the only track he didn't write or co-write was Wyatt's cover of Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew." The album was released in November 2001, reached number five on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart (number 33 pop), and earned gold status. Its success was driven by another duet with Avant, "Nothing in This World," a number 27 pop hit.

Despite her early success, Wyatt encountered a series of obstacles over the next several years. She signed to Cash Money, where she was set to release her second album, Emotional Rollercoaster, but it was shelved. A later deal with TVT yielded a similar result. She recorded yet another album, Ghetto Rose, but the label went under before it was released. After she appeared in a lead role in the touring stage production Love Overboard, Wyatt found a new label home with Shanachie and was finally able to release her refined second and third full-lengths, Who Knew? and Unbelievable!, issued respectively in 2010 and 2011. "Who Knew?" itself, a collaboration with the Underdogs and Tank, peaked at number 38 on the Adult R&B chart. The latter featured Ruben Studdard on a remake of Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal's "Saturday Love" that climbed seven spots higher.

In 2012, Wyatt co-starred on TV One's reality series R&B Divas and appeared on Faith Evans' album of the same title. She launched Aratek Entertainment in 2014 with an EP, Ke' Ke'. Another Evans collaboration, along with covers of contemporary hits by Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Jeremih, preceded 2016's Rated Love, a number 19 hit on the R&B/hip-hop chart highlighted by the charting single "Sexy Song." The album was issued the same year Wyatt co-starred in the eighth season of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars. The following year saw Wyatt land a recurring role in the prime-time soap opera Saints & Sinners and appear on-stage in Preacher's Kid Resurrection. She also found time to record and issue an eclectic set of remakes, Keke Covers, which featured her versions of hits by the likes of Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, and Beyoncé. Wyatt's version of Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey" became a hit itself with over ten million views of its video.

After she starred in the 2023 reality series KeKe Wyatt's World and connected with producer Blac Elvis, Wyatt returned to the Shanachie label in 2024 with Certified, a typically sophisticated set led by the singles "Water into Wine" and "Certified." ~ Alex Henderson & Andy Kellman