Slick Rick) ( One in a Million, 1996)Ī cover of Marvin Gaye’s disco-era ass-shaker with a boisterous guest verse from underrated hip-hop game-changer Slick Rick didn’t seem like an Aaliyah homerun when One in a Million dropped. Kelly - whom she illegally married that same year and who wrote and produced the entirety of Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number - but Aaliyah‘s impossibly cool vocal delivery is what makes this song endure 27 years later. Of course, her first-album era is now looked at through the lens of decades of sexual-abuse allegations against R. “Back & Forth” ( Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, 1994)Īaliyah might not have been able to drive when her debut single “Back & Forth” was released in 1994, but that didn’t stop the then-15-year-old from creating the perfect weekend cruising song, and her first top 10 Hot 100 hit. Honestly, it’s sort of unfathomable that neither of them are with us anymore. Over a squelching Irv Gotti and Lil Rob beat, Aaliyah generously but firmly grants her man permission to do what he’s gotta do - provided he manages to keep his person intact - while X growls about a dog’s needs. DMX) ( Romeo Must Die OST, 2000)Īaliyah’s obvious on- and off-screen chemistry with Romeo Must Die co-star DMX unfortunately led to just one collaboration during her lifetime, with this knocker from that movie’s soundtrack. Listen to a few of ’em today, and marvel at an artist talented and fully realized enough to change the course of an entire genre before she was old enough to buy cigarettes.Ģ0. But we tried our best, with our Billboard staff list of the 20 best songs from the artist forever known as Baby Girl, counted down below. Her presence remains mighty and ineffable, and her music seemingly more influential and more highly regarded with each passing year.Įven with just three official albums across her seven-year recording career, Aaliyah’s catalog is tough to pare down to essentials. But while her music has long been absent, her impact has never been less than unavoidable: At no point in the last 20 years could you foray deep into the worlds of hip-hop, R&B, pop or even electronic without running across an Aaliyah cover, an Aaliyah sample, an Aaliyah reference - or just an Aaliyah acolyte spouting the gospel through their words and/or their music. With Aaliyah’s classic 1996 sophomore LP One in a Million now available on streaming and at digital retailers - and the rest of her long-absent catalog soon to follow - younger generations will finally able to experience the greatness of Aaliyah’s too-brief catalog for themselves.
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