When someone does not change who they are or what they believe due to societal pressures. Especially true with regards to someone who has attained some financial success but does not change their behavior. Alternatively, may relate to someone who maintains connections to their ethnic background in a multicultural environment.
Example 1: I criticized Netanyahu in front of my Jewish boss. I was keepin' it real.
Example 2: At work, I might wear a suit and tie, but if I come in on weekends, I keep it real with baggy jeans and a hoodie.
Example 3: Who the fuck pays $50 for a cab from the airport? I keep it real and just take the bus.
Example 4: Some gora was complaining about the smell of my dal in the microwave. But I keep it real and eat the same shit I eat at home.
Popularized on the Howard Stern Show, derivation of Keep it Real, with the geographical location of 'in the field' added to specify where you need to keep it real.
a phrase used by celebrities who have run away from real life to be adored in a world of make belive to stop the general public from beating them senseless as soon as they walk in to a localpub
celeb: yeah i like to keep it real you: is that why you live in L.A. and London, drive a convertible and wear shades indoors, have an obscene amount of money and sleep with models whilst snorting cocaine, yet contrive to find time to go and see your 'old mates' in the slum you escaped from in which they are still living?