“Dearest, sweet, Aaliyah…”
Two words and the single name of a gone-too-soon R&B queen that go so perfectly together, famously said by fellow late hip-hop legend DMX in a somber music video released in 2002 for her posthumously-released tribute single, “Miss You.” The song and its cameo-filled visual offering arrived just over a year after the tragic circumstances of August 25, 2001. On this day 24 years ago, a superstar in the world of modern soul music, Hollywood and projects yet to be explored died in a Miami-bound plane crash coming from The Bahamas.
At just 22-years-old, Aaliyah Dana Haughton was on location filming the music video for her upcoming single, “Rock The Boat,” which would be posthumously released in the months following along with a previously-filmed music video for dual single, “More Than A Woman.” Immediate plans that included a Just Blaze remix to the latter song featuring Freeway and Beanie Sigel — as the story goes, her plane was en route to their studio session — a meeting with Whitney Houston to negotiate starring in a remake of Sparkle, recording a live duet with Seal, scheduling flights to Australia to film scenes in back-to-back sequels of The Matrix and an upcoming promo run for a co-starring role in Warner Bros.’ Interview with the Vampire sequel, Queen of the Damned, all came to a halt in one single moment.
Nearly a quarter century later, more time than she was here with us on Earth, and the legacy of Aaliyah still lives on. From artists during her era to those who came decades afterwards, her timeless sound and signature style are constantly reworked for every coming generation discovering why she’ll always be considered The Princess Of R&B.
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On a day that will always reflect a great loss to the world of Black entertainment, we chose to honor Baby Girl by looking at some of the deeper cuts in her music catalogue. We all can sing along to the words of her standard-setting 1994 debut single, “Back And Forth,” and fondly remember the stunning music video that accompanied her history-making number one hit in 2000 with “Try Again.” However, the greatest hits simply scratch the surface when it comes to Aaliyah.
Songs made exclusively for movie soundtracks, being featured on the radio edit of another artist’s single and a few solo gems cleverly hidden in plain sight on albums by core production partner Timbaland all make for a surprisingly sizable selection of rarities by a musician who unfortunately was only able to release three studio albums. On those projects though, you’ll also find sleeper hits that easily could’ve been singles alongside fan-favorites like “At Your Best (You Are Love)” “If Your Girl Only Knew” and “I Care 4 U” just to name a few. If you think she went hard for Dr. Doolittle in 1998 with “Are You That Somebody?”, her rarely-discussed contribution to the soundtrack for Music of the Heart in 1999 could easily bring the toughest guy to tears.
Keep scrolling to hear some of the best b-sides by Baby Girl, better known as Aaliyah, on the tragic day we lost an R&B legend:
“Street Thing” (1994)
Album: Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number
“I Need You Tonight” (Radio Remix) (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.) [1995]
Album: Conspiracy [by Junior M.A.F.I.A.]
“Are You Ready?” (1996)
Album: Sunset Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Various Artists]
“Live and Die for Hip Hop” [with Kris Kross, Da Brat, Jermaine Dupri & Mr. Black] (1996)
Album: Young, Rich & Dangerous [by Kriss Kross]
“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” (1996)
Album: One In A Million
“Queen B@#$H” (Radio Remix) [with Lil’ Kim and The Notorious B.I.G.] (1997)
Album: Hard Core [by Lil’ Kim]
“Man Undercover” (feat. Timbaland) [1997]
Album: Welcome To Our World [by Timbaland and Magoo]
“Night Riders” (Radio Remix) [with Boot Camp Clik] (1997)
Album: For the People [by Boot Camp Clik]
“John Blaze” (feat. Missy Elliott) [1998]
Album: Tim’s Bio: Life from da Bassment [by Timbaland]
“You Won’t See Me Tonight” (with Nas) [1999]
Album: I Am… [by Nas]
“Turn The Page” (1999)
Album: Music Of The Heart: The Album [Various Artists]
“Final Warning” (with Ginuwine) (1999)
Album: 100% Ginuwine [by Ginuwine]
“Stickin’ Chickens” (with Missy Elliott & Da Brat) [1999]
Album: Da Real World [by Missy Elliott]
“Are You Feelin’ Me?” (2000)
Album: Romeo Must Die: The Album [Various Artists]
“Loose Rap” (feat. Static Major) [2001]
Album: Aaliyah
“I Am Music” (with Timbaland and Static Major) [2001]
Album: Indecent Proposal [by Timbaland & Magoo]
“Erica Kane” (Released in 2002; originally recorded between 2000 – 2001)
Album: I Care 4 U
“Messed Up” (Released in 2005; originally a hidden track on Aaliyah [2001])
Album: Ultimate Aaliyah
“Where Could He Be?” (feat. Missy Elliott & Tweet) [Originally recorded for Aaliyah (2001)]
Album: The Aaliyah Duets Album (Leaked in 2005 as an unofficial mixtape)
“Giving Up” (Donny Hathaway cover) [2000]
Album: Unreleased [Demo recording for a remake of Sparkle (1976) she was set to star in before her death; recasted in 2012]
