Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (/ɑːˈliːə/ ah-LEE-ə; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop,[2] earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop".
Not to be confused with Aliyah. This article is about the singer. For the album, see Aaliyah (album). For other uses, see Aaliyah (disambiguation).
Aaliyah
January 16, 1979
August 25, 2001 (aged 22)
Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York, US
Baby Girl
- Singer
- actress
- dancer
1989–2001
- Rashad Haughton (brother)
- Barry Hankerson (uncle)
- Tek (cousin)[1]
Detroit, Michigan
Vocals
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Detroit, she first gained recognition at the age of 10, when she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994). The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records.
Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million (1996), which sold three million copies in the United States and more than eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the film Romeo Must Die, alongside Jet Li. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which was supported by her single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely through airplay, becoming the first in the chart's history to do so. After completing the film, Aaliyah subsequently filmed her starring role in Queen of the Damned (which was released posthumously), and in July 2001, released her eponymous third album, which topped the Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles "We Need a Resolution", "Rock the Boat" and "More Than a Woman".
On August 25, 2001, at the age of 22, Aaliyah was killed in an airplane accident in the Bahamas along with eight other people on board, when the overloaded aircraft she was traveling in crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot was later found to have traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body and was not qualified to fly the aircraft designated for the flight. Aaliyah's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft's operator, which was settled out of court. In the decades following her death, Aaliyah's music has continued to achieve commercial success, aided by several posthumous releases. She has sold 8.1 million albums in the US and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. Billboard lists her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and the 27th most successful in history. Her accolades include three American Music Awards and two MTV VMAs, along with five Grammy Award nominations.
Early life, family and education
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn,[3] the younger child of Diane and Michael "Miguel" Haughton, a warehouse worker.[4][5] She was of African-American descent.[4][6][7] Her name is the feminine form of the Arabic "Ali", meaning "highest, most exalted one, the best."[8][9] Aaliyah was fond of her name, calling it "beautiful" and saying she was "very proud of it" and strove to live up to her name every day.[8] When she was five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, Rashad.[10][11] In Detroit, her father began working in the warehouse business, one of his brother-in-law Barry Hankerson's widening interests. Her mother stayed home and raised her and her brother.[12] Her mother enrolled her in voice lessons at an early age.[3] Eventually, she started performing at weddings, church choir, and charity events.[13] Aaliyah attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where in first grade she was cast in the stage play Annie which inspired her to become an entertainer.[14][15]
Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle Hankerson was an entertainment lawyer who had been married to Gladys Knight.[11] As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York City to audition for commercials and television programs, including Family Matters.[16] After failing to land a role on the show she continued her acting through the Gesu Players.[17] In 1989 at age ten she appeared on Star Search, where she performed "My Funny Valentine".[18] Aaliyah chose to begin auditioning. Her mother made the decision to drop her surname.[12][19] She auditioned for several record labels and at age 11 appeared in concerts alongside Knight.[11][20] During her childhood, she had several pet animals including ducks, snakes and iguanas. Her cousin Jomo had a pet alligator, which Aaliyah felt was too much, remarking, "that was something I wasn't going to stroke."[8]
Aaliyah attended Detroit schools and believed she was well-liked, but she was teased for her short stature. By age 15, however, she came to love her height. Her mother told her to be happy she was small and complimented her. Although some children disliked Aaliyah, she determined, "You always have to deal with people who are jealous, but there were so few it didn't even matter. The majority of kids supported me, which was wonderful." Even in her adult life, she considered herself small. She had "learned to accept and love" herself and added: "the most important thing is to think highly of yourself because if you don't, no one else will".[8]
During her audition for acceptance to the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, Aaliyah sang "Ave Maria" in Latin.[21] Aaliyah held a 4.0 grade-point average when graduating from high school. She reflected: "I wanted to keep that 4.0. Being in the industry, you know, I don't want kids to think, 'I can just sing and forget about school.' I think it's very important to have an education, and even more important to have something to fall back on." She considered a future career teaching music, music history or drama if she did not make a living as a recording artist because, as she reasoned, "when you pick a career it has to be something you love".[8]
Career
1991–1995: Age Ain't Nothing but a Number
After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12.[22][23] Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly,[20] who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her first album, recorded when she was 14.[3][23] Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was released under her mononym "Aaliyah", by Jive and Blackground Records on May 24, 1994; it debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 38,000 copies in its first week.[24] It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and it was certified two times Platinum by the RIAA.[25][26] To date the album has sold over 3 million copies in the US.[27] In Canada, the album was certified gold by Music Canada for 50,000 copies in shipments.[28] In 2014, Vibe magazine estimated that the album had sold six million copies globally.[29]
Upon its release, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's new jack swing helped define R&B in the 1990s.[30][31] Her sound was also compared to that of female quartet En Vogue.[30][32] Christopher John Farley of Time magazine called the album a "beautifully restrained work", noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R. Kelly's rough beats".[33] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that the album had its "share of filler", but described the singles as "slyly seductive".[3] He also wrote that the songs on the album were "frequently better" than that of Kelly's second studio album, 12 Play.[3] The single "At Your Best (You Are Love)" was criticized by Billboard for being out of place on the album and for its length.[34]
Aaliyah's debut single, "Back & Forth", peaked at number 5 on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks.[35] Two more singles charted: a cover of the Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100,[35] and the album's title track, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number", peaked at number 75.[35] Additionally, she released "The Thing I Like" as part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame.[36]
1996–2000: One in a Million and Romeo Must Die
In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed with Atlantic Records.[20] She worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album, One in a Million.[11] Elliott recalled Timbaland and herself being nervous to work with Aaliyah, since Aaliyah had already released her successful debut album while Elliott and Timbaland were just starting out. Elliott also feared she would be a diva, but reflected that Aaliyah "came in and was so warming; she made us immediately feel like family."[39] The album yielded the lead single "If Your Girl Only Knew", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100[35] and topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks.[35] It also generated the singles "Hot Like Fire" and "4 Page Letter". One in a Million peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200,[25] and was certified double platinum by the RIAA on June 16, 1997, denoting shipments of two million copies.[26] The album went on to sell 3 million copies in the US[27] and over eight million copies worldwide.[40][41] The year after her album was released, Aaliyah was featured on Timbaland & Magoo's debut single, "Up Jumps da Boogie".[42]
In 1997 Aaliyah graduated with a 4.0 GPA from the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, where she majored in drama.[20][15][43] The same year, she began her acting career, playing herself in the police drama television series New York Undercover.[44] During this time, Aaliyah participated in the Children's Benefit Concert, a charity concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York.[45] She also became the spokesperson for the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.[46] During her campaign with Tommy Hilfiger, the company sold over 2,400 pairs of the red, white and blue baggy jeans she wore in their advertisements.[47] In December 1997, she performed the Christmas carol "What Child Is This?" at the annual Christmas in Washington television special.[48] She also contributed to the soundtrack album for the animated film Anastasia, performing a cover version of "Journey to the Past" that earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[36][49] Aaliyah performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony, becoming the youngest singer to perform at the event.[50] Also in 1998, she released the song "Are You That Somebody?" which was featured on the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack.[51] The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100[35] and earned Aaliyah her first Grammy Award nomination.[51]
In 1999, Aaliyah landed her first big-screen acting role in Romeo Must Die.[52] She starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families.[52] Released on March 24, 2000, the movie grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office.[53][54] Aaliyah purposely stayed away from reviews of the film to "make it easier on" herself, but she heard "that people were able to get into me, which is what I wanted."[55] In contrast, some critics felt there was no chemistry between her and Jet Li, as well as viewing the film as too simplistic.[56] This was echoed by Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times, who wrote that while Aaliyah was "a natural" and the film was conceived as a spotlight for both her and Li, "they have so little chemistry together you'd think they're putting out a fire instead of shooting off sparks.[57]
Public image
Aaliyah focused on her public image while protecting her private life. She felt that it was "important ... to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack".[118] USA Today said, "Her slinky vocal style and eye-popping videos made her a crossover star, while her persistent protection of her privacy added an air of intrigue about her".[15] According to Aaliyah, "I put a lot of pressure on myself to be true to myself and not let anything else influence me to do what someone else is doing. Being a little edgy and sexy is me. My image isn't a put-on. I'm happy to put over that dark edge in my videos, because it's always been there. I used to wear my sunglasses or have my hair over one eye a lot more when I was younger. [Now] I'm happy with all aspects of myself."[88]
She often wore baggy clothes and sunglasses, stating that she wanted to be herself.[119] Aaliyah also wore black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and Japan.[20][120] In 1998, she hired a personal trainer to keep in shape, and exercised five days a week and ate diet foods.[121] As her career progressed, "she went through so many fashion revamps".[122] For example, When she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother's advice and covered her left eye, much like Veronica Lake.[123] The look has become known as her signature and been referred to as fusion of "unnerving emotional honesty" and "a sense of mystique".[124] In regards to her fashion choices, writer Jeff Lorez described her as a "model of understatement".[88] According to Lorez, "She's beautiful, but hardly in a high-gloss, supermodel way—more like a really good-looking girl next door. And rather than bling-blinging her ice in a ghetto-fabulous manner befitting her Trumped-up surroundings, she blings on the down-low: A subtle bracelet here, a winking pendant there, offset by her simple black jeans and matching sweater. Trés cool".[88] Former TRL host Carson Daly said that she was "cutting edge, always one step ahead of the curve and that the TRL audience looks to her to figure out what's hot and what's new".[56]
Aaliyah was often praised for her "clean-cut image" and "moral values".[125] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote of Aaliyah's artistry and image, "she was lithe and dulcet in a way that signified neither jailbait nor hottie—an ingenue whose selling point was sincerity, not innocence and the obverse it implies."[126] Emil Wilbekin, told CNN: "Aaliyah is an excellent role model because she started her career in the public eye at age 15 with a gold album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. And then her second album, One in a Million went double platinum. She had the leading role in Romeo Must Die, which was a box office success. She's won numerous awards, several MTV music video awards, and aside from her professional successes, many of her lyrics are very inspirational and uplifting. She also carried herself in a very professional manner. She was well-spoken. She was beautiful, but she didn't use her beauty to sell her music. She used her talent. Many young hip-hop fans greatly admire her."[127]
She was also seen by others as a sex symbol and didn't have a problem with being considered one. "I know that people think I'm sexy and I am looked at as that, and it is cool with me," she stated. "It's wonderful to have sex appeal. If you embrace it, it can be a very beautiful thing. I am totally cool with that. Definitely. I see myself as sexy. If you are comfortable with it, it can be very classy and it can be very appealing."[82] Aaliyah also felt though her image was "risque and sexy", it was important to remain respectable because she wanted to make songs that everyone could relate to without it being vulgar.[83] When she participated in fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger's All America Tour Tommy Jean ads, she wore boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube top. Hilfiger's brother, Andy, called it "a whole new look" that was "classy but sexy".[120] The single "We Need a Resolution" was argued to have transformed "the once tomboy into a sexy grown woman".[128]
Personal life
Family
Aaliyah's family played a major role in the course of her career.[56] Beginning in 1995, Aaliyah's father Michael Haughton served as her personal manager, and her mother assisted him. Aaliyah's brother Rashad Haughton and her cousin Jomo Hankerson were with her when she worked.[129] After her father became ill, her brother Rashad became her manager.[56]
Aaliyah was known to have usually been accompanied by members of her family. Her brother Rashad stated that the filming of "Rock the Boat" was the only time her family was not present during a video shoot. In October 2001, Rashad said: "It really boggles everyone [that] from Day One, every single video she ever shot there's always been myself or my mother or my father there. The circumstances surrounding this last video were really strange because my mother had eye surgery and couldn't fly. That really bothered her because she always traveled. My dad had to take care of my mom at that time. And I went to Australia to visit some friends. We really couldn't understand why we weren't there. You ask yourself maybe we could have stopped it. But you can't really answer the question. There's always gonna be that question of why."[130] Her friend Kidada Jones said in the last year of Aaliyah's life, her parents had given her more freedom and she had spoken about wanting a family.[131]
Illegal marriage
Aaliyah reportedly developed an intimate relationship with Kelly during the recording of her debut album. She told Vibe magazine in 1994 that she and Kelly would "go watch a movie" and "go eat" when she got tired and would then "come back and work". She described the relationship between her and Kelly as "rather close."[132] In December 1994, Aaliyah told the Chicago Sun-Times that whenever she was asked about being married to Kelly, she urged them not to believe "all that mess" and that she and Kelly were "close" and "people took it the wrong way".[133]
With the release of Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, rumors circulated about a relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly,[20][134] including the allegation that they had secretly married without her parents' knowledge.[135][136] Vibe magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois.[136] Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the certificate; R. Kelly was 27. The marriage was annulled by her parents in February 1995, but the pair denied the allegations, saying that neither was married and that the certificate was a forgery.[134][136]
Jamie Foster Brown in the 1994 issue of Sister 2 Sister wrote that "R. Kelly told me that he and Aaliyah got together, and it was just magic." Brown also reported hearing about a sexual relationship between them. "I've been hearing about Robert and Aaliyah for a while—that she was pregnant. Or that she was coming and going in and out of his house. People would see her walking his dog, 12 Play, with her basketball cap and sunglasses on. Every time I asked the label, they said it was platonic. But I kept hearing complaints from people about her being in the studio with all those men." Brown later added "at 15, you have all those hormones and no brains attached to them".[137]
In his 2011 book The Man Behind the Man: Looking from the Inside Out, Demetrius Smith Sr., Kelly's former tour manager, revealed that Kelly married Aaliyah after she told him that she was pregnant.[138] In the 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly, Smith described how he helped Aaliyah forge the necessary documents to show she was 18 to marry Kelly.[139] Smith also said he was "not proud" of his role in facilitating their marriage.[140] Additionally, the documentary revealed that Jovante Cunningham, a former backup dancer, claimed to have witnessed Kelly having sex with Aaliyah on his tour bus.[141]
Aaliyah admitted in court documents that she had lied about her age. In May 1997, she filed suit in Cook County seeking to have all records of the marriage expunged because she was not old enough under state law to get married without her parents' consent. It was reported that she cut off all professional and personal ties with Kelly after the marriage was annulled and ceased contact with him.[135] In a 2014 interview, Aaliyah's cousin Jomo Hankerson said that she "got villainized" for her relationship with Kelly and the scandal over the marriage made it difficult to find producers for her second album. "We were coming off of a multi-platinum debut album and except for a couple of relationships with Jermaine Dupri and Puffy, it was hard for us to get producers on the album." Hankerson also expressed confusion over why "they were upset" with Aaliyah given her age at the time.[142]
Aaliyah was known to avoid answering questions about Kelly after the professional split. During an interview with Christopher John Farley, she was asked whether she was still in contact with him and would ever work with him again. Farley said Aaliyah responded with a "firm, frosty 'no'" to both questions.[143] Vibe magazine said Aaliyah changed the subject anytime "you bring up the marriage with her".[56] A spokeswoman for Aaliyah said in 2000 that when "R. Kelly comes up, she doesn't even speak his name, and nobody's allowed to ask about it at all."[144] Kelly later said that Aaliyah had opportunities to address their relationship after they separated professionally but chose not to.[145] In 2019, Damon Dash revealed to Hip Hop Motivation that Aaliyah did not even speak of her relationship with Kelly in private; he tried multiple times to discuss it with her, but she would only say that Kelly was a "bad man".[141] Dash said he was unable to watch Surviving R. Kelly because its interviews with visibly traumatized girls struggling to discuss their encounters with Kelly reminded him of how Aaliyah behaved when trying to recount her relationship with Kelly.[141] Dash later appeared in Surviving R. Kelly, Part II in 2020.[146]
Other allegations were made about Kelly regarding underage girls in the years after Aaliyah's death, and their marriage was used as an example of his involvement with them.[147] He has refused to discuss his relationship with her, citing her death. "Out of respect for her, and her mom and her dad, I will not discuss Aaliyah. That was a whole other situation, a whole other time, it was a whole other thing, and I'm sure that people also know that."[148] In 2016, Kelly said that he was as in love with Aaliyah as he was with "anybody else."[149] Aaliyah's mother, Diane Haughton, reflected that everything "that went wrong in her life" began with her relationship with Kelly.[133]
After the documentary Surviving R. Kelly aired in January 2019, pressure from the public using the Mute R. Kelly hashtag escalated and RCA Records dropped Kelly from the label.[150] In February 2019, Kelly was indicted on ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.[151] In July 2019, he was arrested on federal charges of sex crimes, human trafficking, child pornography, racketeering, and obstruction of justice.[152] When his trial began in August 2021, Kelly faced 22 federal criminal charges that involved allegedly abusing 11 girls and women between 1994 and 2018.[153] Aaliyah's illegal marriage to Kelly was heavily featured in the court case.[154] On September 27, 2021, a federal court jury found Kelly guilty of nine counts including racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, sex trafficking, and a violation of the Mann Act. The judge ordered that Kelly remain in custody pending sentencing, which was set for May 4, 2022.[155] On June 29, 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[156][157]
Relationship with Damon Dash
Aaliyah was dating the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, Damon Dash, at the time of her death. Although they were not formally engaged, Dash claimed the couple had planned to marry in interviews given after Aaliyah's death.[158][159] In the summer of 2000, Aaliyah was introduced to Dash by his accountant and they formed a friendship.[160][161] Aaliyah never publicly addressed their relationship as anything but platonic.[56] Due to their hectic work schedules, Aaliyah and Dash were separated for long periods of time.[161] Jay-Z mentioned Aaliyah and Dash in the remix of her song "Miss You", released in 2003.[162] In August 2021, Dash told Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier, "I was reflecting [that] there hasn't been one day since she's passed, not one in the 20 years, that I haven't either heard her name, heard her record, or seen a picture of her ... Every single day she's present in my life and I feel lucky for that."[163]
Posthumous releases
2001–2014: Queen of the Damned, compilations, and single releases
Immediately after Aaliyah's death, there was uncertainty over whether the music video for "Rock the Boat" would ever air.[183] It made its world premiere on BET's Access Granted on October 9, 2001. She won two posthumous awards at the American Music Awards of 2002; Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album for Aaliyah.[184] Her second and final film, Queen of the Damned, was released in February 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, re-dubbed some of her lines during post-production.[185] It grossed US$15.2 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office.[186] On the first anniversary of Aaliyah's death, a candlelight vigil was held in Times Square; millions of fans observed a moment of silence; and throughout the United States, radio stations played her music in remembrance.[187] In December 2002, a collection of both previously unreleased and released material was issued as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, I Care 4 U. A portion of the proceeds was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, a program that benefits the Revlon UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program and Harlem's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[188] It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 280,000 copies in its first week.[189] The album's lead single, "Miss You", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100[69] and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks.[190] In August of the following year, luxury fashion house Dior donated profits from sales in honor of Aaliyah.[191]
In April 2005, Aaliyah's second posthumous album, a double CD+DVD box set titled Ultimate Aaliyah, was released in the United Kingdom by Blackground Records.[192] A documentary movie Aaliyah Live in Amsterdam was released in 2011, shortly before the tenth anniversary of Aaliyah's death. The documentary, by Pogus Caesar, contained previously unseen footage shot of her career beginnings in 1995 when she was appearing in the Netherlands.[193]
In March 2012, music producer Jeffrey "J-Dub" Walker announced that the song "Steady Ground", which he produced for Aaliyah's third album, would be included in a posthumous Aaliyah album. Aaliyah's brother Rashad denied Walker's claim.[194] On August 5, 2012, Blackground Records released the track "Enough Said" which was produced by Noah "40" Shebib and features Canadian rapper Drake.[195] Four days later, Jomo Hankerson claimed a posthumous album was being produced that would feature new production by Timbaland and Missy Elliot, who both later denied being involved with the project.[196][197] The album was scheduled to be released by the end of 2012 by Blackground Records, but its release was shelved.[198][197] In June 2013, Aaliyah was featured on the track "Don't Think They Know" by Chris Brown, which appears on Brown's sixth studio album, X.[199] Timbaland voiced his disapproval for "Enough Said" and "Don't Think They Know" in July 2013, but later apologized to Chris Brown, explaining that Aaliyah and her death were a "very sensitive subject".[200][201]
2015–present: Merchandise, catalog rerelease and Unstoppable
In May 2015, Aaliyah was featured on the Tink track "Million", which contained samples from her song "One in a Million".[202] In September 2015, Aaliyah by Xyrena, an official tribute fragrance, was announced.[203] On December 25, 2015, Timbaland released the mixtape Kings Stay Kings which includes the unreleased Aaliyah song "Shakin" featuring rapper Strado.[204] In June 2018, MAC Cosmetics released a cosmetics collection inspired by Aaliyah, The Aaliyah for Mac collection which was priced at $250 and sold out within minutes.[205][206] MAC and i-D Magazine partnered up to release a short film titled "A-Z of Aaliyah" which coincided with the launch.[207] On August 21, 2019, the Madame Tussauds museum unveiled a wax figure of Aaliyah at their Las Vegas location, modeled on her appearance in the "Try Again" music video.[208] Four days later, Aaliyah's family announced that they were in talks with record companies to discuss the future of her discography.[209]
In March 2021, Funko Pop! released an Aaliyah figurine.[210] In August 2021, Blackground Records announced that Aaliyah's recorded works would be re-released on physical, digital, and streaming services in a deal between the label and Empire Distribution.[211] Aaliyah's estate issued a statement in response to the announcement, denouncing the "unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah's music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate".[211] One in a Million was reissued on August 20.[212][213] After the album's re-release, One in a Million re-entered the UK Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40 at number eight.[214] In the US, the album reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 for the first time at number ten, selling 26,000 album-equivalent units in the week ending of August 26.[215]
Aaliyah was reissued September 10, 2021.[216] After the album's re-release, Aaliyah re-entered the UK Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40 at number seven[217] and re-entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number 13.[218] In celebration of the reissue, Blackground released an animated commercial titled "It's Been A Long Time" (in a similar style to the album's original 2001 commercial), directed by Takahiro Tanaka, showing Aaliyah resurrecting her music from out of a large underground vault.[219] Compilation albums I Care 4 U and Ultimate Aaliyah were reissued October 8, 2021.[220] Ultimate Aaliyah peaked at number 8 on the UK R&B Albums Chart Top 40[221] and charted for the first time in the US at number 41 on the Billboard 200.[222]
On August 25, 2021, Barry Hankerson revealed in an interview with Big Tigger for WVEE that a posthumous album titled Unstoppable would be released in "a matter of weeks". The album will feature Drake, Snoop Dogg, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Future and use previously unreleased vocals from before Aaliyah's passing.[223] On December 17, 2021, Background Records released the posthumous Aaliyah single "Poison" featuring The Weeknd.[224] [225] On January 4, 2022, Hankerson confirmed that Unstoppable would be released later that month,[226] however, there was no sign of the album, nor any announcement from the label, and as of 2024, remains unreleased.
Legacy and influence
Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B, pop and hip hop in the 1990s, "leaving an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole."[2][227] According to Billboard, she revolutionized R&B with her sultry mix of pop, soul and hip hop.[91] Peter Piatkowski from PopMatters, stated, "Much like Janet Jackson's Control set a template of sorts for dance-pop divas in the 1980s, Aaliyah's patented brand of Black pop, which was a mélange of hip-hop, electropop, and soul, set a standard against which other young urban-pop singers were judged".[228] In a 2001 review of her third album, Ernest Hardy from Rolling Stone professed that Aaliyah's impact on R&B and pop has been enormous.[100] Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote Aaliyah ranks among the "elite" artists of the R&B genre, as she "played a major role in popularizing the stuttering, futuristic production style that consumed hip-hop and urban soul in the late 1990s."[229] Critic Bruce Britt stated that by combining "schoolgirl charm with urban grit, Aaliyah helped define the teen-oriented sound that has resulted in contemporary pop phenom's like Brandy, Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child".[50]
Described as one of "R&B's most important artists" during the 1990s,[230] her second studio album, One in a Million, became one of the most influential R&B albums of the decade.[37] Music critic Simon Reynolds cited "Are You That Somebody?" as "the most radical pop single" of 1998.[231] Kelefah Sanneh of The New York Times wrote that rather than being the song's focal point, Aaliyah "knew how to disappear into the music, how to match her voice to the bass line",[231] and consequently "helped change the way popular music sounds; the twitchy, beat-driven songs of Destiny's Child owe a clear debt to 'Are You That Somebody'."[101] Sanneh asserted that by the time of her death in 2001, Aaliyah "had recorded some of the most innovative and influential pop songs of the last five years."[101] Music publication Popdust called Aaliyah an unlikely queen of the underground for her influence on the underground alternative music scene.[232] The publication also mentioned that the forward-thinking music Aaliyah made with Timbaland and the experimental music being made by many underground alternative artists are "somewhat cut from the same cloth".[232] While compiling a list of artists that take cues from Aaliyah, MTV Hive stated that it's easy to spot her influence on underground movements like dubstep, strains of indie pop, and lo-fi R&B movements.[233] Erika Ramirez, an associate editor of Billboard, said at the time of Aaliyah's career "there weren't many artists using the kind of soft vocals the ways she was using it, and now you see a lot of artists doing that and finding success". Ramirez argued that Aaliyah's second album One in a Million was "very much ahead of its time, with the bass and electro kind of R&B sounds that they produced", and that the sound, "really stood out" at its time, was being replicated.[234]
There has been continuing belief that Aaliyah would have achieved greater career success had it not been for her death. Emil Wilbekin mentioned the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur in conjunction with hers and added: "Her just-released third album and scheduled role in a sequel to The Matrix could have made her another Janet Jackson or Whitney Houston".[235] Director of Queen of the Damned Michael Rymer said of Aaliyah, "God, that girl could have gone so far" and spoke of her having "such a clarity about what she wanted. Nothing was gonna step in her way. No ego, no nervousness, no manipulation. There was nothing to stop her."[236] On July 18, 2014, it was announced that Alexandra Shipp replaced Zendaya for the role of Aaliyah for the Lifetime TV biopic movie Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, which premiered on November 15, 2014.[237] Zendaya drew criticism because people felt that she was too light skinned and did not greatly resemble Aaliyah.[238] She voiced her strong respect for Aaliyah before dropping out of the project.[239] She explained her choice to withdraw from the film in videos on Instagram.[240] Aaliyah's family has been vocal in their disapproving of the film. Her cousin Jomo Hankerson stated the family would prefer a "major studio release along the lines" of What's Love Got to Do with It, the biopic based on the life of Tina Turner. Aaliyah's family has consulted a lawyer to stop Lifetime from using "any of the music, or any of the photographs and videos" they own and Jomo Hankerson claimed the TV network "didn't reach out."[241] On August 9, 2014, it was announced that Chattrisse Dolabaille and Izaak Smith had been cast as Aaliyah's collaborators Missy Elliott and Timbaland.[242] Dolabaille and Smith both received criticism for their appearances in comparison with that of Missy Elliot and Timbaland.[243] Despite negative reviews,[244] the film's premiere drew 3.2 million viewers, becoming the second highest rated television movie of 2014.[245]
On August 17, 2021, Atria Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) published Kathy Iandoli's Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, a biography that draws on interviews with Aaliyah's friends, mentors and family, and document how her career influenced a new generation of artists. It has not been authorized by the Haughton family.[246][247] On August 5, 2022, Beyoncé released "The Queens Remix" to her single "Break My Soul", in which she name-drops Aaliyah, along with other cultural icons.[248][249] On June 14, 2023, Aaliyah was the subject of the documentary Superstar: Aaliyah, which was broadcast on ABC. The documentary included interviews with Damon Dash, Barry Hankerson, Sevyn Streeter, Will.i.am, Justine Skye, and author Kathy Iandoli, and discussed Aaliyah's life, career and legacy.[250][251]
