Indianapolis, Indiana-born KeKe Wyatt has made a huge impression on R&B audiences with very little actual musical output. Though she had been singing publicly since she was a small child, it was in 2001, while still a teen, that Wyatt first hit the spotlight, dueting with Avant on the remake of Rene and Angela’s “My First Love.” She also briefly served in a precursor group to Destiny’s Child (then called The Dolls) before issuing her debut album, Soul Sista, on MCA. It included another Avant duet, “Nothing In This World,” which hit the top of the charts.
Seemingly on top of the musical world, KeKe would soon take a hard fall, being indicted in 2002 for allegedly stabbing her husband during a domestic dispute. While the charges were dropped, the damage to her career was done. She signed with Cash Money Records and released the single, “Put Your Hands On Me,” but the corresponding album, Emotional Rollercoaster, was never issued.
More bad luck occurred three years later, as KeKe worked on the album Ghetto Rose, on TVT Records which also went unreleased as TVT folded. Wyatt’s fans began to wonder if they’d ever get their hands on another album by her, when Shanachie Records announced it would be releasing a new KeKe album, Who Knew?, in February, 2010. It received strong critical praise and signaled a welcome return for an extremely talented singer.
In 2011, Wyatt worked on a surprisingly quick follow-up album, Unbelievable, but slowed down her output after that, releasing Rated Love in 2016 and Keke Covers in 2017. After a seven year break, she signed with Shanachie Music and released the well-received Certified in 2024.
By Chris Rizik
