Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on 16 January 16 1979, in Brooklyn, New York, and was named after the feminine form of the Arabic "Ali" meaning "highest, most exalted one, the best". Her mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer who had been married to Gladys Knight, and so as a child she traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York to audition for commercials and television programs, appearing on the talent show 'Star Search' at the age of ten. At the suggestion of her mother she dropped her surname and auditioned for several record labels, as well as appearing at concerts alongside Gladys Knight at age 11. After Hankerson gained a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12, later introducing her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her first album, which was recorded when she was 14. 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number' was released on Jive Records under her mononym "Aaliyah" in 1994, and it debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 38,000 copies in its first week. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with some noting that her "silky vocals" and "sultry voice", blended with Kelly's new jack swing, and helped define R&B in the 1990's. The first single released from her second studio album, 'If Your Girl Only Knew', was described as a sassy, organ-infused song, and her vocals were praised for having a smoother, more seductive, and stronger tone. In 1996, she left Jive Records and signed with Atlantic Records, working with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album 'One in A Million', which eventually sold over eight million copies worldwide. She graduated in drama from the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts in 1997, and began her acting career that same year, playing herself in the police drama television series 'New York Undercover', followed by her first film role in the 2000 movie 'Romeo Must Die', earning her mixed reviews from critics. She also contributed four songs to the soundtrack album, with 'Try Again' being released as a single and topping the Billboard Hot 100. After completing 'Romeo Must Die', Aaliyah began work on her second film 'Queen Of The Damned' playing an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a "manipulative, crazy, sexual being". Filming of her movies delayed the release of her next album, and it was suggested that having to focus on her film career may have caused her to give the album less attention it merited, with collaborator Timbaland saying that he didn't feel the same production values had gone into 'Aaliyah' as had been lavished on 'One In A Million'. After a year of recording she finally finished the album in March 2001,and it came out in July, five years after the release of her last record.
On 25 August 2001 Aaliyah and some employees of her record company boarded a twin-engine Cessna 402 light aircraft at the Marsh Harbour Airport in Abaco Islands, the Bahamas, to travel to the Opa-Locka Airport in Florida, after they'd completed filming the music video for 'Rock The Boat'. The plane crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board. A subsequent investigation determined that the aircraft was overloaded by 700 pounds (320 kg) when it attempted to take off, and was carrying one more passenger than it was certified for. Immediately after her death, there was uncertainty over whether the music video for 'Rock The Boat' would ever air, but it did make its world premiere on BET's Access Granted on 09 October 2001, and her second and final film, 'Queen Of The Damned', was released in February 2002. In December 2002, a collection of previously unreleased material was released as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, 'I Care 4 U', and 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, and a single from it, 'Miss You', debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200. In April 2005 her second posthumous album, a double CD+DVD box set titled 'Ultimate Aaliyah', was released in the United Kingdom by Blackground Records. In March 2012 rumours surfaced that another posthumous album was being readied for release, but this was refuted by her brother, claiming that "no official album is being released and supported by the Haughton family", although Blackgroud continued to insist that a posthumous album, including 16 unreleased songs with contributions from Aaliyah's longtime collaborators Timbaland and Missy Elliott, would be produced and that it was scheduled to be released by the end of 2012. In August Timbaland and Missy Elliott dismissed rumors about being contacted or participating for the project, and in January 2014 it was finally confirmed that the posthumous album had been shelved due to the negative reception surrounding Drake's involvement. In August 2021, Barry Hankerson revealed that a fourth (and likely final) studio album, titled 'Unstoppable', would be released in "a matter of weeks", featuring Drake, Snoop Dogg, Ne-Yo, and Chris Brown, and the album was scheduled for a January 2022 release, although it has yet to appear. With the mysterious disappearance of 'Unstoppable', now is the time to post this collection of previously unreleased songs, none of which will appear on 'Unstoppable' when it does arrive. Aaliyah revolutionized R&B with her sultry mix of pop, soul and hip hop, and so I hope that this album is a fitting tribute to an artist who was taken from us way too soon.
Track listing
01 La La La
02 They Say (Quit Hatin')
03 No Days Go By
04 He Keeps Me Shakin'
05 Steady Ground (Parts 1 & 2)
06 Charge It To The Game (No Love) (feat. Static Major & Chris Brown)
07 Where Could He Be? (feat. Missy Elliot & Tweet)
08 Giving Up
09 Round 'n' Round (feat. Ne-Yo)
10 Girlfriends (feat. Yaushameen Michael)
11 Time
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