Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’ son 12-year-old son Egypt Dean had the internet in a chokehold after his dad shared footage of him effortlessly playing the piano on Wednesday, July 12.
When his dad walked in and surprised him to record the moment, Egypt smiles and looks shocked, then turns his attention back to being the young maestro he is. Swizz marveled with pride at his son’s talent.
“This boy is turning into something else EG Keys!!! Sing something to it and tag #EGKEYS,” the iconic music producer captioned the video he uploaded to Instagram.
It didn’t take long for viewers to chime in note that his talent is likely inherited.
“Go on, Egypt!! He gets it from his momma, for real. I know she is too proud,” one user commented.
“Talented parents sew into their talented children great job king and queen,” another said.
“WHEN YOUR PARENTS ARE BOTH MISICAL GENIUS THIS WHAT U GET,” a third chimed in.
Though Egypt has a natural gift for music, he’s gone on record saying he’s not interested in following in his parents’ footsteps and pursuing a career in music. He said he enjoys playing the piano for fun but would rather pursue a career in sports.
“Well, I love music, but I don’t really want to be a musician. I want to be a basketball player,” he told Jennifer Hudson during an appearance with his dad on her namesake show in April. “It’s fun because I like playing stuff, so when I hear it, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I want to play something,’ then boom, it’s on the piano.”
Having Egypt and his siblings find their own paths in life is something his father said he, Keys and his other children’s mothers encourage and support.
“It’s beautiful. The one thing that we don’t do is force things on them,” Swizz told Hudson when she asked him how it felt to see Egypt evolve musically. “We don’t force art; we don’t force music; what we force is good intentions. … We have to let the kids be who they’re going to be but guide them in the right way and not put that pressure on them.”
Despite Egypt’s lack of interest in a music career, he’s already accomplished some impressive feats. In 2016, he became one of the youngest people to professionally produce a song for a record label when he worked with his dad on Kendrick Lamar’s “untitled 07.” At the time he was only 5.
Egypt has also performed with his mom a couple of times, including at the 2019 iHeartRadio Awards.
