Biography
Ke'Tara Shavon "Keke" Wyatt was born on March 10, 1982 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Lorna Jean Wyatt (née Payne), a vocalist & Keever West Wyatt II, an organist and vocalist. Her mom's Caucasian, while her dad's African-American & Native American: specifically Cherokee. Keke comes from a musical family rooted in church music. However, the singer's parents exposed her to R&B at home and encouraged her to pursue secular music. Being of a musical family she is able to perform several genres of music that include gospel, R&B, pop, country and opera. Furthermore, Wyatt can also write music equally as well. The singer has 2 brothers named Keever III & Kendall. Wyatt began singing when she was 2 & made her first performance in front of a live audience at 5 years old. The song she performed, Beautiful was taught to her by her mother. The young singer later performed a song she learned from her father, How Beautiful. Growing up in Indianapolis, spending time in both Kentucky and Texas, Wyatt became influenced by the likes of artists: Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Ella Fitzgerald. She was inspired by many preceding musical greats, she would sing with various girl groups as a teen. She attended high school in Indianapolis and was she was a member of her high school's varsity wrestling team. As a young girl and teen Keke was often recognized for possessing a level of maturity that exceeded her in age, and in 2000 at eighteen years old she married Rahmat Morton who is eight years her senior and a former athlete. They later had children together. She has expressed much pride in her multi-racial background. Her first breakthrough was after a highly successful collaboration with R&B singer Avant on his platinum album My Thoughts. Her first album debuted in 2001 and was called Soul Sista, and earned a Certified Gold status. Wyatt's first single, Used to Love went virtually unnoticed, but her second duet with Avant "Nothing in This World" became a huge smash single. In 2004, Keke left MCA Records and signed with Cash Money Records/Universal Motown Records, and released her second album Emotional Rollercoaster, but it had very little success. She then left Cash Money Records, and she has since signed with TVT Records, reuniting with former manager Quadri El Amin.
