R&B singer and actress Aaliyah poses for a photo in New York on May 9, 2001. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper)
Beyond the grave, many musical artists find successes even greater than the accolades they received while on Earth.
The phenomenon exists amongst most genres. Travelers from across the world eagerly pile into Graceland each year for Elvis week. Rappers frequently channel fallen emcees 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. on songs in an attempt to invoke the emotional attachment and admiration fans have for their life and legacy.
Devoid of monuments or a truly distinctive musical style to associate with their favorite icon; however, Aaliyah fans seem to be taking a step further than devotees to other foregone performers.
Today, the singer, who died in an August 2001 plane crash departing from a music video shoot, holds nearly as much prominence as she did while living. With a controversial television biopic produced by Wendy Williams scheduled to air next month, “Aaliyah fever” could get even more contagious.
Aaliyah embodied the street savvy bravado that was successful for contemporaries like Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans. Pairing her inner-city cool with sex appeal and raw singing talent, even as a new artist, Aaliyah exuded a sleek delivery on the microphone and on camera.
At 15-years-old, Aaliyah Dana Haughton began recording her debut album to be released on Jive and Blackground Records, an imprint operated by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. Hankerson at the time managed budding R&B star, R. Kelly.
After a 1995 VIBE Magazine article reported on Kelly and Haughton’s illegal marriage (Aaliyah was 15 and Kelly was 27), the partnership that spawned hits “Back and Forth” and an extremely spot on cover of the Isley Brothers “At Your Best (You Are Love)” split up, causing Aaliyah to partner with another one of her uncle’s clients, Timbaland.
After Timbaland learned the ropes of the music business under the tutelage of Jodeci’s DeVonte Swing, he and other members of Devonte’s “Swing Mob” collective developed a sound that would serve as the signature to Aaliyah’s sophomore album “One in a Million” in 1996.
In the scope of Aaliyah’s short career, this period serves as her creative peak. The most outspoken Aaliyah super fan among musicians today, Drake, alludes to this era in Aaliyah’s discography often.
“Girl, I gotta watch my back, cause I’m not just anybody,” he rapped on Young Money’s “Every Girl,” a song instrumental in introducing the Canadian rapper to American rap music fans in 2009. The lyric mirror’s the chorus to the hit record, “Are You That Somebody,” a contribution by Aaliyah in 1998 to the Dr. Dolittle original soundtrack.
Drake’s devout fandom for all things Aaliyah often stands on the borderline of obsession. He dons a portrait of her on the earpiece he wears during live performances and even got an image of the singer tattooed on his back. After a number of tributes to her through song, Barry Hankerson reached out to Drake’s longtime producer, Noah “40” Shebib, to executive produce the first posthumous Aaliyah LP. The project was cancelled after an outcry from Aaliyah fans hoping for Timbaland and Missy Elliot to head the project.
This isn’t the first or last time a rapper took interest in collaborating with the deceased singer, however.
Shortly after her death, Jay-Z, whose business partner, Dame Dash, was engaged to Haughton at the time of he death, immortalized the late vocalist with a heartfelt remix of her song “I Miss You.”
In more recent times, Kendrick Lamar used “4 Page Letter,” the fourth single from “One in a Million” as the basis for his song “Blow My High (Members Only).”
Outside of rap, Chris Brown released his own duet with Aaliyah, “Don’t Think They Know,” in 2013 made from older acapello tracks. Within the last year Tamar Braxton and Erica Campbell of Mary Mary have used samples of Aaliyah’s distinctive tone to make new music.
One look or listen at R&B stars like Ciara, Rihanna or Timbaland protégé Keri Hilson proves Aaliyah’s DNA in the genre extends far beyond kindred female vocalists of the 1990s like Mya, Monica and Brandy.
Certainly when “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B” airs November 15 on Lifetime, many new fans will be introduced to the singer that helped build the bridge between rap’s flavor and R&B’s fearless sexuality. Quite possibly, the film will assist in continuing the omnipresence of her influence on urban music culture.
