Aaliyah

Before her still-promising trajectory ended abruptly at twenty-two in a plane crash, Aaliyah had already shaped the sound and feel of modern R&B and pop. From the outset her supple, gliding soprano and relaxed presence announced themselves on the Top Ten single “Back & Forth,” which propelled the debut album Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number (1994) to multi-platinum sales. With the equally successful follow-up One in a Million (1996) she helped embed the stuttering, futuristic production aesthetic that dominated late-nineties commercial music, especially through her partnership with Timbaland; tracks such as “If Your Girl Only Knew” and the later Dr. Dolittle soundtrack single “Are You That Somebody?” stand among the era’s most forward-looking recordings. Released only weeks before her death, the self-titled third album Aaliyah (2001) remains her most fully realized work. Though her recorded output was modest, her influence echoes through subsequent artists including Ciara, Rihanna, Drake, and Jhené Aiko.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton entered the world on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn and received her name from the Swahili phrase for “most exalted one.” Her uncle Barry Hankerson, a manager and entertainment lawyer once married to Gladys Knight, and her mother, herself a vocalist, placed Aaliyah in voice lessons before elementary school. After the family relocated to Detroit she appeared in local school productions; at nine she won a spot on Star Search with a rendition of “My Funny Valentine.” Two years later, through Hankerson’s industry ties, she joined Gladys Knight’s revue for a five-night run in Las Vegas. In 1992 Hankerson also managed the rising R. Kelly and arranged their introduction; Kelly soon began writing and producing material for the young singer.

Hankerson launched Blackground Records and arranged distribution through Jive Records. Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number appeared in May 1994 and quickly earned platinum certification behind the hits “Back & Forth” and “At Your Best (You Are Love),” the latter an Isley Brothers cover. Both singles reached the pop Top Ten and attained gold status; “Back & Forth” topped the R&B/hip-hop chart while “At Your Best” peaked at number two. That August Aaliyah and R. Kelly married in secret; the union was annulled within six months after her parents objected, the certificate having listed her age as eighteen.

Her second album, One in a Million, arrived in August 1996 under Atlantic distribution and displayed a clear artistic maturation. Working with multiple producers, most prominently Timbaland alongside his writing partner Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, she scored hits with “If Your Girl Only Knew,” “One in a Million,” and “4 Page Letter,” the first of which reached number one on the R&B/hip-hop survey. Diane Warren’s ballad “The One I Gave My Heart To” also climbed to the R&B/hip-hop Top Ten, and the album ultimately achieved double-platinum certification. Aaliyah graduated high school in 1997 and began contributing to film soundtracks; “Journey to the Past” from Anastasia earned an Oscar nomination, and the 1998 Timbaland–Static Major collaboration “Are You That Somebody?” became a major hit from Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Dolittle, in which she also appeared on screen. The track marked her third R&B/hip-hop number one and brought a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

She proceeded deliberately on a third album while pausing to launch an acting career. In 2000 she co-starred with Jet Li and DMX in the Shakespearean update Romeo Must Die; the accompanying Timbaland–Static Major single “Try Again” became her first pop chart-topper and earned another Grammy nomination. She next filmed the title role in the Anne Rice adaptation Queen of the Damned and secured a significant part in the planned Matrix sequels. Completing the long-gestating album with further contributions from Timbaland, she released Aaliyah in July 2001 via Virgin; it garnered strong reviews and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Lead single “We Need a Resolution” reached the R&B/hip-hop Top 20. While shooting the video for “Rock the Boat” in the Bahamas, Aaliyah and several associates boarded a plane on August 25 that crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all nine aboard. The music community expressed widespread grief. Posthumously Aaliyah became her only number-one album on the Billboard 200, “Rock the Boat” entered the pop Top 20, and Queen of the Damned opened at the top of the box office. Both the album and “Rock the Boat” received Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

By late 2002 the later single “More Than a Woman” earned yet another R&B Grammy nomination, and Blackground issued the compilation I Care 4 U, which blended unreleased material with familiar tracks and entered the Billboard 200 at number three. Its title song became a Top 20 pop hit; “Miss You” topped the R&B/hip-hop chart in early 2003. I Care 4 U marked her fourth platinum release. Blackground followed with the independent anthology Ultimate Aaliyah in 2005. Sixteen years afterward her catalog, previously scarce on streaming platforms, returned to digital and physical formats; One in a Million re-entered the Billboard 200 at number ten, surpassing its original peak position.