Aaliyah
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Source: CHRIS DELMAS / Getty
Today would’ve been Aaliyah’s 46th birthday, and she’s still one of the most influential artists in music, even though she passed away in 2001. Aaliyah was more than just a singer—she was a trendsetter. She mixed R&B, hip-hop, and pop in a way nobody had done before, and her smooth vocals and chill vibe made her a legend. Albums like One in a Million and Aaliyah were ahead of their time and still inspire artists today.
Even though she’s gone, Aaliyah’s impact is still felt everywhere. Artists like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and The Weeknd have all mentioned how she influenced their music. Rappers have also shown love to Aaliyah by sampling her songs. Jay-Z used her track “Rock the Boat” in his song “Blueprint 2,” and Drake always gives Aaliyah props, whether it’s through lyrics or using her music in his own tracks like “Enough Said.” Missy Elliott, who was close to Aaliyah, also keeps her memory alive in her music.
After Aaliyah passed, Ashanti stepped up and became the next big thing in R&B. Her debut album, Ashanti (2002), had that same smooth vibe Aaliyah was known for, mixing R&B with hip-hop. Ashanti’s vocals and catchy songs reminded everyone of Aaliyah’s style, and she was crowned the “Princess of Hip-Hop Soul” as the next queen of the sound. Tracks like “Foolish” and “Happy” showed she could do it all—smooth ballads and street-smart hits. Ashanti took the torch from Aaliyah and kept that whole vibe alive, making her the new face of that sound.
Aaliyah’s legacy is strong, and her style and sound are still shaping the music we hear today. She may not be here, but she’ll always be remembered as a true icon. Let’s go down the list of some of the best rappers that have sampled Aaliyah and did justice to it.
1. Drake – “Enough Said” (sampled “At Your Best (You Are Love)”
2. Blow my high – Kendrick Lamar (sampled “4 Page Letter”)
3. Outkast – Pink & Blue (sampled “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number”)
4. A$AP Rocky – F**kin’ Problems (sampled “Quit Hatin’”)
5. Nipsey Hussle – A Million (sampled “One In a Million”)
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Source: James Devaney / Getty / Dame Dash
Dame Dash has become what he used to despise: a chatty patty. The former “cakeaholic” now explains why he was doing his iconic dice roll dance moves in R. Kelly’s “Fiesta (Remix)” video even though he dated the late singer, one of the disgraced musician’s victims, Aaliyah.
The former CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records opened up about his appearance in the R. Kelly music video alongside his former business partner, JAY-Z, in a recent episode of his American Nu Network podcast on YouTube.
During the episode, he answered a question from Baller Alert about his appearance in the R. Kelly/JAY-Z video despite famously dating Aaliyah and knowing her past with the jailed singer/songwriter.
He reveals that he spoke with Aaliyah, expressing that he didn’t want to be in the videos, but she said she didn’t want to start any trouble.
Per XXL:
“When Jay was proceeding to still do business with R. Kelly, I went back and told Aaliyah, like, ‘Yo, they’re still doing projects. They got singles together. They are shooting videos. I don’t want to go to the videos. I don’t want to have any parts of it,” Dame says at the 38:55 mark of the video below. “And what she told me was that, ‘I don’t want to start any trouble that would probably trigger more attention on it. I just want to heal. I just want to leave this alone and get as far away from it as possible. I don’t want to hear about it. I’m really happy with our relationship in this moment and where it’s going. Just don’t be in any scene with him and don’t take any pictures with him.’”
“So, you can ask anybody that was on the set,” he continues. “I stood in the trailer. When it came time to do the shoot, I did my shots with Jay or whoever. I was not in one scene with R. Kelly. And you never seen me in a picture with R. Kelly. At least after I met Aaliyah.”
We see.
In the episode, he also discussed Jaguar Wright’s outrageous claims about JAY-Z and more. If you have time to waste, you can’t watch the episode in its entirety below.
Following R. Kelly‘s paramount conviction in federal court after decades as a sexual abuser and trafficker, the third installment in Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary series will arrive on Jan. 2-3, as part of a two-night event.
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Titled Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter, the docuseries will feature bombshell revelations from Kelly’s 2021 trial, where he faced charges including racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping, forced labor and Mann Act Coercion and Enticement. The series will detail the disgraced R&B star’s crimes, which led to his conviction on nine counts and a sentence of 30 years in prison. Interviewees shed light on key moments including Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage’s infamous interviews with Gayle King, as told by Clary’s father, and firsthand accounts of the intimidation tactics used by Kelly and his team surrounding victim testimonies, including setting fire to a Jane Doe’s car with intent to intimidate.
The documentary will also shed light on Kelly’s lesser known victims, including a John Doe, and his relationship with late R&B singer Aaliyah, 12 years his junior. Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter is executive produced by Joel Karsberg, Tamra Simmons, Jesse Daniels, Maria Pepin and Brie Miranda Bryant, and contains over 60 voices and testimonials, including victims, their families, Kelly’s supporters, reporters who attended the trial, among others.
The docuseries trailer shows the chaos that erupted for five weeks outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse, including supporters with microphones yelling “Justice for R. Kelly” day after day, a supporter with Kelly’s name tattooed on her chest, and the influx of press swarming the premises.
During the trial, Kelly’s defense team argued for the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer to receive the minimum sentence of 10 years or less, citing in court documents a “traumatic childhood involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and violence.”
Prosecutors, however, sought a minimum 25-year term. In the end, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years, unintentionally symbolic of the 30 years of abuse he inflicted on countless victims, known and unknown.
Watch the trailer for Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter below.
Actor Isaiah Washington sat down for an interview with VladTV this week, where she shared his thoughts on his Romeo Must Die co-star Aaliyah, who secretly married R. Kelly in 1994 when she was only 15 and the “Ignition” singer was 27.
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During R. Kelly’s racketeering and sex trafficking trial in 2021, the singer’s tour manager Demetrius Smith shared that he had reason to believe Kelly had impregnated Aaliyah when she was still a minor, which is why they got married. The marriage was later annulled in February 1995. Aaliyah died tragically just a few years later, in 2001 at age 22, in an airplane accident in the Bahamas.
While many believe that Kelly preyed on the late star when she was just a teenager, Washington claimed in the interview that she was not a victim. He admitted that he had a “crush” on the then-21-year-old “mysterious” singer while filming Romeo Must Die, in part to her being so “mature.”
As far as the R. Kelly relationship, Washington said that he believes she was in control due to her mature personality. “She was very in control of her being, but she was a businesswoman too. Super smart,” he said. “I think she was in control of that situation even at her age.”
“She was 15 going on 30, so she was in control of that whole situation,” he later added. “I don’t judge her, but she was very smart and very mature and very in control of her situation. I don’t believe one minute that Aaliyah was made to do anything that Aaliyah didn’t want to do.”
Listen to the full interview below.
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