Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys would not confirm to Jane magazine whether or not she?s dating her songwriter/producer Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, but reveals she has been in a committed relationship with a significant other for a while now and can see herself starting a family with that person.

Saying she?s relived not to be single, Keys tells the magazine: ?I think about how uncomfortable I would feel trying to find love among so much falseness. So I feel very, very, very blessed to have someone special to me.?

Meanwhile, Krucial is busy at work on his own solo rap project, but it?s not ?another R&B producer-turned-rapper scenario," Brothers tells Billboard. "It's the other way around."

After meeting Keys at open-mic sessions around New York, their friendship blossomed into a creative partnership as co-owners of Krucial Keys Enterprises. Now Brothers feels its time to revert back to his rap roots.

An eight-song introductory EP featuring Brothers and 18-year-old protege Illz will be released near the end of February by way of Krucial Keys subsidiary Krucial Recordings. A full-length album, "Take Da Hood Back," is scheduled to drop in June. Billboard describes the set as a mixture of ?conscious tracks, party jams, boom beats and smooth cuts for the ladies.?

Currently weighing several distribution options, the Queens, N.Y.-bred Brothers says he wants to remain an indie act despite his major-label connections.