The biggest rappers and R’n’B and pop stars still cite Aaliyah as an inspiration, and her voice still preaches on their headphones and audio receivers. To this day, artists sample her lyrics, and the memory of the young American’s talent is still alive among fans. However, Aaliyah’s story is filled not only with great fame, but also with pain and suffering in her private life. More texts about music stars can be found on the home page
Destined for success. Acquaintance with Gladys Knight
Aaliyah Dana Haugton was born on January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York and had a passion for music from an early age. Despite being born in the “Big Apple”, her career for years will be associated with the capital of soul and r’n’b – Detroit. Already at the age of 10, she was determined to achieve success in the industry, and her mother’s support helped her develop her full wings. Uncle Barry Hankerson, husband of popular singer Gladys Knight, also helped.
She traveled with her to the largest stages in the United States and participated in countless castings. Her breakthrough came in 1990, when she appeared in the TV show “Star Search”. And although the triumph passed her by, the biggest “players” of the music industry wanted her in their labels. However, she decided to keep polishing her vocals and wait for the right moment.
Great success and controversy. They are connected by the character of R.Kelly
That’s how, as a 14-year-old, she met R.Kelly, also through Hankerson. The pop and r’n’b star produced her debut album “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number”. It turned out to be a great success, as it achieved sales of 3 million records, achieving platinum status. She aroused recognition not only among listeners, but also among reviewers, who lavished praise on her. Her relationship with R. Kelly was and still is controversial – the media then speculated about the musician’s marriage to the teenager, which Aaliyah herself loudly denied. The truth, however, was that the artist’s age was faked because she was a year too young to get married, and years later she took the entire blame on herself. The entire media “carousel” had a strong impact on the psyche of the still young singer.
Aaliyah MikaV / Wikimedia Commons
Two years later, in 1996, her second album was released – “One in a million”, and the guests included: rapper Missy Elliott or music producer Timbaland, with whom she was to create the biggest hits of her career in the following years. The album debuted at number 20 on the prestigious Billboard 200, selling over a million copies this year alone. Commercial success was open to her.
Just “Aaliyah”. Reaching for the sky
However, the status of a big star was ensured by the last album recorded during her lifetime. It was titled simply “Aaliyah”, and the production was handled by the already mentioned Timbaland, her uncle Barry Hankerson, and herself. Its success was already unquestionable – it reached the top of the Billboard 200, received a nomination for the best R’n’B album in 2002, and by 2009 the album achieved triple platinum status. There was also no shortage of high-budget music videos, and she paid the highest price for trying to record one of them…
Her intuition did not disappoint her. However, her colleagues let her down
Aaliyah came to the Bahamas to shoot the video for the song “Rock the boat”. And although the island is only 80 km away from Miami in the USA, when the artist heard about her return in an overloaded plane, she categorically refused to fly. Besides, she had always been afraid of plane travel and had a hard time with it. The singer then complained of a headache and decided to take sleeping pills, falling asleep in the taxi. Her co-workers, against her will, carried her aboard a plane in which she did not intend to return to the United States.
Even though the pilot did not agree to take off at first, after some persuasion he decided to change his mind. However, the end turned out to be tragic, as the machine crashed on the airport runway, trying to break away from the runway. All passengers died. As the autopsy showed, Aaliyah suffered numerous head injuries and extensive burns, so she had no chance of survival. The expert opinion indicated that the plane was actually overloaded. The music star died on August 25, 2001, at the age of only 21, with the whole world at his feet.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
