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Ke'Tara Shavon " Keke" Wyatt (born March 10, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and TV personality. After performing in a number of girl bands and working as a songwriter during her teenage years, in 2000 she garnered national attention after her successful collaboration with fellow R&B singer Avant, In 2001 her rendition of "Nothing in This World" led to a nomination for the Best New R&B/Soul/Rap Artist award at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. After a number of charting collaborations and solo releases, in 2012 she starred as a cast member in TV One's , which featured the lives of five 1990s chart-topping R&B singers. She was featured in all 3 seasons of the show. She also performed with the group at events such as Essence Music Festival.
In her career, Wyatt released official studio albums, including Soul Sista (2001), Who Knew? (2010), Unbelievable (2011), and her latest and recent release, Rated Love (2016). All of these albums charted prominently on Billboard, as did her first and only EP release, Ke'Ke' (2014). Wyatt has also released a number of charting singles, with the lead single "Sexy Song" from the album Rated Love peaking at number 29 on the Adult R&B Songs chart. After getting involved with a number of non-profits, Wyatt served as a spokesperson for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV).
Her first single, "Used to Love", helped to create buzz but failed to achieve radio play, though it did chart at No. 65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The follow-up single "Nothing in This World", her second duet with Avant, charted higher on a number of Billboard charts, including No. 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 35 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart.
Soul Sista, her solo debut in 2001, a platinum album, was released on November 13, 2001. It reached number 33 on the Billboard 200. Selling more than one million copies, Wyatt's fanbase broadened to audiences in Japan, South Korea and Europe. On December 11, 2001, Wyatt was interviewed. During that interview, Wyatt said that she was a founding member of an early incarnation of Destiny's Child, called "The Dolls" and that she was later replaced by Beyoncé. In 2002, her rendition of "Nothing in This World" led to a nomination for Best New R&B/Soul/Rap Artist at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.
In 2007 Wyatt, reunited with her former manager Quadri El Amin on the TVT Records label. Work on her third solo album Ghetto Rose was completed in 2007. The title track, written by veteran songwriter Franne Golde along with Kasey Livingston and Curt Schneider, was released to urban radio outlets in the fall of that year. The album was originally set for release on October 23, 2007, but was postponed for release in early 2008. Then, in February 2008, the record label filed for bankruptcy and, for the second time in her solo career, Wyatt's album was shelved.
Wyatt released the single "Who Knew?" in 2010, which served as the title track for her album Who Knew?, released on February 23, 2010 through Shanachie Records. On the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the album peaked at No. 35. In May 2011, Wyatt released a remake of the popular 1980s single "Saturday Love", featuring Ruben Studdard. Shortly afterwards, she also released a music video for the track through Shanachie Records. "Saturday Love" was included in her second album on Shanachie, Unbelievable!, which was released on June 14, 2011. It peaked at No. 48 on the R&B Albums chart.
Throughout the show, R&B Divas singers collaborated on a charity album commemorating the life of Whitney Houston, featuring the single "Love Yourself" which is also featured in the TV show's introduction. Proceeds of the album went towards benefiting organizations committed to improving the lives of women. She performed at the 2012 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans along with the other cast-members of R&B Divas, and according to Erika Ramirez of Billboard in a ranking of the top ten performances at the festival, "Keke Wyatt's cover of Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' left the audience in awe even after the performance." After the initial season of R&B Divas, Wyatt appeared in the two following seasons as well, when the show was renamed to .
In 2013, she collaborated with Avant on their hit "You & I", which peaked at No. 1 on Billboards Urban A/C chart, and remained there close to two months. "You & I" also reached No. 33 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In May 2014, Wyatt released her first EP titled Ke'Ke', through The NorthStar Group and her own imprint Aratek Entertainment. The imprint is her birth name backwards, and is also meant as a stand-in for the word erotic. Cue Slow Wind To Keke Wyatt's "Sexy Song (Centric, November 23, 2015)
The EP featured songwriters and producers such as Ne-Yo, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, and Cristyle, while other guest artists include Pusha T on the track "Rain", and Nitty Scott in "Remember". Overall, the EP contains five newly written and produced songs, and the single "Fall in Love" reached No. 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and No. 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the Billboard 200, the EP reached number 191, R&B Albums chart, the EP peaked at No. 12 in late June 2014, and it also reached No. 35 on the Independent Albums chart.
In August 2014, Wyatt made a cameo in fellow co-star Faith Evans' music video "I Deserve It", featuring Missy Elliott and Sharaya J. Later that year, Wyatt was featured as a vocalist on the track "Make Love" by Faith Evans.
In August 2016, it was announced that she and her husband Michael Ford had joined the cast of the sixth season of set for an October airdate. On October 13, 2016, Wyatt announced the single "Jodeci" on her Instagram account, writing: "I think we got a new one with my new single Jodeci!!! I wanna know what ya'll think", revealing it would be released with a deluxe version of her album Rated Love on October 21, 2016.
It was announced on January 31, 2017, via Wyatt's social media accounts that a covers album Keke Covers would be released on February 14, 2017, "My YouTube cover series #kekecovers comes the cover album 'Keke Covers' #COMINGSOON #FEB14 #LOVERSDAY2017".
She remarried in 2010 to Michael Jamar Ford, an ordained minister who went to appear with Wyatt in the reality TV show . As of 2013, Wyatt was raising six children with Ford, three fathered by Wyatt's first marriage, a daughter named Mickayla from Ford's previous relationship and their two sons: Ke'Mar Von Ford (born August 16, 2010) & Wyatt Michael Ford (born May 17, 2012). Wyatt had her seventh child and Ford's fourth child, a daughter named Ke'Yoshi Bella Ford on March 10, 2015. Wyatt announced in April 2017 that she was pregnant with her eighth child. In early September 2017, it was reported that the couple were divorcing while she was eight months pregnant. On October 27, 2017, Wyatt gave birth to her eighth child and Ford's fifth child, a son named Kendall Miguel Ford. Ford confirmed their divorce in August 2018.
In October 2018, Wyatt married her childhood ex-boyfriend, Zackariah Darring. On November 8, 2018, she announced she was pregnant with her ninth child with Zackariah. She gave birth to her tenth child on January 6, 2020; a son named Ke'Riah David Darring. She gave birth to her eleventh child in 2022. In July 2024, Wyatt announced that she and Darring were divorced after five years of marriage. She hinted that they separated due to abusive behavior on his part.
| 2002 | Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards | "Nothing in This World" (Keke Wyatt ft. Avant) | Best New R&B/Soul/Rap Artist |
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