In the her own words, Aaliyah means “the highest, most exalted one; the best”, and her body of work certainly lives up to the name. With a stunning appearance and strong personality, she made a point of personally guiding every aspect of her career. She had an effortless ability to blend sophistication and sexiness, creating a distinct and welcoming identity. Incredibly, she began work on her first album “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number” at the age of 12! This album, produced and assisted by R. Kelly, sold 3 million copies in the U.S, 6 million worldwide. Aaliyah followed this up with the sophomore album, “One in a Million”, featuring collaborations with Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Once again, this record gained huge support (3.7 million sold in the U.S., 8 million worldwide). The monumental track, “Try Again” was created out of her first major role in the film “Romeo Must Die”. The song was contributed to the soundtrack, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocalist. After playing a part in the movie “Queen of the Damned”, Her final album “Aaliyah” was released in 2001. Tragically, after filming the video for “Rock the Boat”, at the age of 22, Aaliyah and 8 others were killed in a plane crash. A beautiful and gifted artist in every sort of way, Aaliyah brought new life to R&B and hip-hop.
– Jimi Jaxon
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