Keri Hilson - There's two sides to every story and the R&B siren knows both of them. Complex Magazine

Maybe Keri Hilson should have adopted a stage name before she became a pop star. It’s not that her birth name doesn’t befit an R&B diva (it’s better than, say, “Tweet”), it’s just that there’s a Jekyll-and-Hyde thing at work. The gorgeous 26-year-old nestled in the lounge in New York’s Hudson Hotel couldn’t possibly be the same chick on TV in tights and stilettos, trading verses and personal time with Lil Wayne and Kanye. The one right now is streetwear wifey supreme: a Canal Street T-shirt paired with jeans and Dunks. Hates getting her nails done, never kisses and tells. In-person Keri is just as appealing as video Keri…so why the dichotomy?
Because, simply put, she recognizes game. At 14, when most of her peers were playing dress-up in local talent shows, Ms. Hilson had a record deal (with the defunct girl group D’Signe). By the time she entered college, she had writing credits on major-label records, and would eventually—along with her songwriting crew, The Clutch—pen hits for Britney Spears (“Radar”), Ciara (“Like a Boy”), and Omarion (“Ice Box”). So yeah, with more than a decade in the game, not only does she know exactly what pop stars are supposed to look like, she knows exactly how they’re supposed to sound.
That’s why she enlisted mentors Polow Da Don and Timbaland for her debut album, In a Perfect World… It’s also why she blessed us with a glimpse of her perfect legs—she has no problem putting on for the camera, as long as it’s in a professional setting. (But there won’t be any private photos leaking. No shots!). And it’s why we sat down with her to ask the reason it’s still trickin’ if you got it, what she does at night, and why Kanye got to slap her ass on stage. With stunts like that, we don’t care what she calls herself.
How do you feel about your album and the way people are receiving it? It’s tough out here right now.
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