R&B star Alicia Keys moved by protests in Egypt

London: R&B star Alicia Keys has paid tribute to those who are fighting for a change in Egypt in a passionate post on her website.

The 30-year-old singer has revealed that she realised of the growing movement against the country`s government when she took an inspirational three-week trip through the country in 2006, reported Contactmusic. The `Empire State of Mind` hitmaker said she was so deeply moved by Egypt that she named her first-born son after the Middle East nation last year. Keys said that the country and its people, who are currently caught up in the country`s violent clashes between supporters and critics of President Hosni Mubarek, will always have a special corner in her heart. In her heartfelt post, Keys writes, "I have visited Egypt and, as I travelled through along the streets of Cairo, the back streets of Alexandria and the villages along the Nile, it was easy to see that a small, quiet vibration was growing, building, reaching to a pitch that is now heard by the ears of the world. "In every case this deeply rooted will to express what cannot be denied, rises up and forces all of us to recognise and respect this voice that produced the sound of freedom playing long and strong throughout Egypt. "Now when I look at my son, I realise more than ever that his name represents more than the will to be free – it stands for the fight for change, and the courage to shout! We can hear the voice... and it is ours." PTI