Tragically on August 25, 2001, at the age of 22, R&B singer, songwriter and aspiring actress Aaliyah Dana Haughton, was killed. Aaliyah, known worldwide by her single moniker, perished in a plane crash off the Bahamas after filming the video for the Hype Williams-directed "Rock the Boat," a single from her third, self-titled album.
A decade later, the music world still feels the ache, sadness, and vacancy left by the beautiful, incandescent and talented young angel’s shocking and untimely death. Aaliyah's career was aglow, and she was on the path to superstardom, paving the way for today’s young female chart toppers like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and others.
Aaliyah, whose first name means “exalted” in Arabic, dropped her first album Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number at the tender age of 14. Her introduction to the music scene was produced by mega-selling R&B crooner R. Kelly. The musical duo were rumored to have married when Aaliyah was barely 15 and Kelly was over 27.
The scandal surrounding the marriage issue was brought front and center when hip-hop magazine Vibe ran a story based on a single document. Vibe declared that Aaliyah and R. Kelly had secretly tied the knot summer of 1994 in Rosemont, Illinois. In spite of Vibe’s article, there has been substantial information to the contrary stating that Aaliyah and R. Kelly had in fact never tied the knot.
For her sophomore outing, 1996’s One in a Million, the Brooklyn-born, Detroit-raised sensation collaborated with then musical unknowns Missy Elliot and Timbaland. Elliot and Timbaland were just getting started in the highly competitive producing and songwriting market. Shortly after One in a Million scored double-platinum, Elliot and Timbaland became hot commodities as a collaborative force and as solo hit makers, but Aaliyah was their musical muse and pairing, with her atributed to the status they acheived.
Aaliyah was the voice behind the flirty, fluid, heart-stirring and sexy hits, "We Need Resolution," "Back and Forth," "Try Again," "One in a Million" and "Are You that Somebody" (from the blockbuster Eddie Murphy film Dr.Dolittle). Aaliyah uncovered another layer in her skillful arsenal by revealing and showcasing her acting chops in 2000’s Romeo Must Die and as a vampire queen in Anne Rice’s best-selling novel turned movie, 2002’s Queen of the Damned. Aaliyah was signed on to join the cast of the two Matrix sequels before her unexpected passing.
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