International recording artist Keke Wyatt releases new single and video “Jocedi” from her new CD project, Rated Love Deluxe, a follow-up to her latest project, Rated Love, released via her own Aratek Entertainment through a multi-album artist services deal with global distribution company INgrooves Music Group. Rated Love Deluxe has morphed from a five-song EP to a 12-song CD into a digital download boasting 17 songs plus interludes. Rated Love Deluxe is available for purchase now (http://flyt.it/RatedLoveDeluxe). Wyatt’s new single and video “Joceci” is sure to be fan favorite. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXjPcR8jPkM&feature=youtu.be).
Between the runaway-elevator life that inspires her songs and the reality shows in which she stars that find her generously sharing her highs and lows to help others, Wyatt has a treasure trove of musings on the subject of love. So much so that her Rated Love Deluxe goes further than any previous Wyatt release to reveal “the real” Keke with a diverse collection of material by the lady and her team of writers and producers that includes R&B, country, techno-pop, acoustic soft rock and contemporary inspirational styles—all served by the wallop of Wyatt’s dynamic vocals reflecting more of the music she has taken to heart across her lifetime.
“Everything on this album that I wrote is literally what I go through with my husband, Michael Jamar Ford,” Keke confesses. “All the things I want and expect from him. Musically, people want to keep me in a box with Avant (the R&B singer with whom Keke has enjoyed three mega hits as duets). I love him like a brother and we do have a great sound together; but that’s not my sound, that’s just how people first heard me. My sound is like a big ol’ pot of gumbo. I’m biracial so I grew up around all kinds of music. With my mother’s family, one part was gospel country and another part was hillbilly country. On my daddy’s side, it was down home gospel. All of that is in me, but I’m taking baby steps. I know I can’t go from being one thing people have been hearing then turn around with something completely different. ‘Lie Under You’ from the EP is more what I love to do.”
Rated Love Deluxe was introduced with the attention-grabbing single and video “Sexy Song,” about engaging all the senses in foreplay and lovemaking from a woman’s point of view. The heat gets crunk even more on songs like “Red Light” and “On Repeat.” However, most of Rated Love Deluxe is about the all-or-nothing madness that comes with being in a committed relationship with someone you absolutely adore one minute then want to smash a champagne magnum over their head the next.
One fine example of this is the acoustic and introspective “No Peace.” “A relationship can be a rollercoaster,” Keke explains. “At home, sometimes it feels like war, but it’s a war of peace. I’d rather be in a war with you than to not have you. That’s how I love my spouse.” On the lighter side there’s the pop-country electric guitar-laden “Dumb Love.” “It’s so stupid when you love a person so much that you take stuff off of them you wouldn’t take from anyone else. When I get mad and tell you to leave, that doesn’t mean leave! That means, ‘Come and hold me closer. Even if I push you away, don’t let me go.’ That’s just how females are.”
Among Rated Love Deluxe’s most emotional tunes is “Back to You.” “It’s the feeling I have when I’m away from Michael Jamar,” Keke shares. “When we get into arguments and either he decides not to go on the road with me or I tell him I need a break and leave. The longer we’re apart—especially when it’s time for bed—all I can do is think about getting back to him.”
Still, from the techno groove of devotion “Anything,” the moody “24 Hours” and “If It Ain’t You” to the tender “I Know” and “If I Had You” to the epic “It’s Reigning,” Keke’s husband and manager was the primary muse for Keke to put pen to paper.
Wyatt also started a “Keke Covers” series on her YouTube channel where she posts videos in the studio wailing anything from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Beyoncé’s “Love On Top” to Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and—most popular—Jeremih’s “Oui,” which taps into her more youthful friends base. Especially touching is her recent video “Diamonds and Pearls” by Prince—an artist to whom she feels most kindred. “I loved when Prince sang from his bass to his falsetto all in one song. And we’re both gifted with playing multiple instruments. I think my ‘friends’ would really enjoy seeing me play instruments more.”
Currently Wyatt and husband Michael Jamar Ford star in the new reality series Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars on the WE tv Network. Tune in on Fridays at 9/8 C. Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars also feature Amber and Jim (Real Housewives of New Jersey), Jade and Tanner (Bachelor in Paradise), Karen and Storm (Mob Wives), Margeaux and Merika (Love & Hip Hop), along with marriage counselors and experts Dr. Ish Major and Dr. Venus Nicolina.
