"Blended Family (What You Do for Love)" is a song by American recording artist

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, featuring vocals from rapper

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

. It was written by Keys, Rocky, John Bush, Brandon Aly,

Tish Hyman Latisha "Tish" Hyman, commonly known as Tish, is an African-American singer-songwriter and rapper. Early life Hyman was born and raised in the Bronx,Kathy Landoll“Band Crush: Tish Hyman,”''Nylon'', June 22, 2015.Rea Melissa Davis“Tish Hym ...

, Dave Kuncio, John Houser, Kenneth Withrow and

Edie Brickell Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...

for her sixth studio album ''

Here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

'' (2016), while production was helmed by Keys and

Mark Batson Mark Batson is an American producer, musician and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar Grey, Grace Pott ...

. The song refers to the former marriage of Keys' husband

Swizz Beats Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

and musician

Mashonda Tifrere Mashonda Karima Dean (born January 9, 1978) is an American R&B singer from Boston, Massachusetts. She appeared on several songs from hip hop artists in the 2000s. In 2004, she married record producer Swizz Beatz, and was once signed to his lab ...

. It was released on October 7, 2016 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Background and release

The song is inspired by family and in particular the themes are those of adoption and extended families. Keys was inspired by her family composed of her husband

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

, their two sons Egypt Daoud Dean and Genesis Ali Dean, and Beatz's son Kasseem Dean Jr from his previous marriage with

. Keys, following the controversy that arose due to the alleged dating of the singer-songwriter with Beatz, dedicated the song to Tifrere, writing:

«The understanding, compassion and support we’ve found is a powerful testament to the healing that comes when we choose love. Especially for the kids … the most important part of our lives. Celebrating Mashonda for our commitment to each other with support and true growth»

Music video

The music video, filmed in black-and-white, was released on November 11, 2016, and features both Keys and ASAP Rocky. In September 2017 it was revealed on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

that the video was directed by

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs Alicia Keys songs ASAP Rocky songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by ASAP Rocky Songs written by Edie Brickell Song recordings produced by Mark Batson Hip hop songs Black-and-white music videos Songs written by Mark Batson Music videos directed by Hype Williams Song recordings produced by Alicia Keys