“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, where on that unforgettable day 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.
22-year-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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That’s why on the annual fan celebration of what would’ve been her 47th birthday today (January 16), we felt a need to reflect on a great loss to the world of Black entertainment in losing Baby Girl by looking back 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 day an R&B legend was born:
25. “Giving Up” (Cover of Donny Hathaway’s 1971 Version)
Album: Unreleased*
*Demo recorded between 2000 – 2001 in the vain of Lonette McKee as ‘Sister’ in Sparkle (1976), for which Aaliyah was set to star in a remake of as the titular role before her death and later recasted in 2012. Originally recorded in 1964 by her aunt, Gladys Knight, as lead singer of pioneering soul collective Gladys Knight & the Pips.