With her music finally hitting streaming platforms and a complicated legacy amidst the ongoing R. Kelly trial, Aaliyah’s relevance as our Forever Princess still rings true

“You and me got a street thing going on…” I remember hearing these words sung in the most incredibly beautiful and pure way. It felt different. Where Mary sounded like the streets, Kelly and Faith sounded like the church, and Erykah sounded conscious — Aaliyah sounded experienced and innocent, still; even before we knew what was going on.

It occurred to me then, that sincerity was her specialty. It felt like each song was just for me.

When Timberland affectionately called her The Princess, we all gleefully agreed because that’s who she was to us; and when she died, it felt like a personal death for me.

ONE IN A MILLION… ONE MORE TIME

Last week, One in a Million cracked the Billboard top 10 list, resurging its popularity and for the first time, bringing in a new generation of contemporaries.

It’s smart business — not coincidence and much more strategic, two decades after her death to release Aaliyah’s music on all streaming platforms.

As the singer trends and the R. Kelly trial continues to dominate headlines, her uncle Barry Hankerson who founded her label (Blackground Records), is releasing her remaining catalog of music starting with the Timberland-produced One in a Million.

The singer’s self-titled album, which would be her last, the Romeo Must Die soundtrack, and albums from Timbaland, Toni Braxton, JoJo and Tank are all scheduled to be released between August and September.

Hankerson was once married to Gladys Knight and is credited with discovering R. Kelly. The label head experienced controversy over his business practices, which is said to have been the main reason for the dismantling — made worse by a suit filed by Toni Braxton, who accused Hankerson of fraud, deception, and double-dealing.

After replacing Kelly with Timberland and Missy Elliot to head production and songwriting for Aaliyah’s second album in 1996, it went double-platinum powered by the lead singles, “If Your Girl Only Knew,” and the title track, “One in a Million.”

Last year, Aaliyah’s Twitter account released a statement saying communication over the singer’s music had once again begun. Hankerson said last year, he’d been seeking a new distribution deal for her music.

Streaming is now made possible through Blackground’s deal with EMPIRE Records.

In total, 17 albums will be made available. Those albums have sold a combined 14.3 million copies with 6.38 million coming from Aaliyah according to Billboard’s MRC data.

AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER… JANE DOE #1

In 2019, R. Kelly was indicted in Chicago and New York on state and federal charges of aggravated sexual assault and abuse. This included a 13-count indictment for child pornography, racketeering, and violation of the Mann Act — which prohibits the transportation across state lines for prostitution.

These charges are damning for the super-producer and R&B singer who was the subject of the Lifetime series, “Surviving R. Kelly” which chronicles his heinous sexual acts against women — most underage, including Aaliyah.

In 1994, a minister in Chicago married Aaliyah Houghton and Robert Kelly. She was 15. The minister, Nathan Edmund, never spoke about the marriage until recently when he took the stand in the controversial R. Kelly trials which are on-going.

The ceremony lasted 10 minutes. Edmund, says he didn’t know who he was marrying. “I didn’t think it was anybody special. I didn’t understand it at all,” he said from a video link.

Aaliyah and R. Kelly arrived at the scene in jogging suits with one leg turned up. “You couldn’t see her whole face because her hair was over half of her face.”

The two were married on August 31, 1994. Her debut album, ironically titled, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, was released a few months earlier on May 24th. The project was certified double-platinum springing several hits including “Back and Forth,” “At Your Best (You Are Love)” and the title track, “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.”

The singer’s family has been historically tight-lipped about the controversy surrounding the marriage and her age at the time. They’ve been noticeably absent from the press surrounding Kelly’s trial.

The marriage was annulled, shortly after. But how did it happen in the first place?

In 2019, when R. Kelly was indicted, it was revealed that he obtained a fake ID that read Aaliyah’s age was 18. He was 27 when the two wed. Inconsistently, the marriage certificate listed Aaliyah as 27. Derrell McDavid, Kelly’s accountant/manager, is widely said to have arranged the marriage. The false ID was obtained with a $500 bribe according to Demetrius Smith, who took the stand last week. Smith was a tour manager for Kelly from 1984 to 1996.

Aaliyah was introduced to R. Kelly in her hometown of Detroit by Hankerson. Shortly after Kelly took the singer under his belt, Smith testified, Kelly told him, “Aaliyah is in trouble. We need to get home.” In Chicago, a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband.

In the indictment, Aaliyah is referred to as Jane Doe #1. For years, rumors of whether the singer was pregnant at the time hadn’t been confirmed. Still, the prosecution argue that Kelly knew Aaliyah was underage and knew she was pregnant.

Smith testified that Kelly told him his manager would be arranging a marriage to protect him. When the prosecution asked from what, Smith said, “from jail.”

THE AALIYAH AESTHETIC

Aaliyah made streetwear sexy in a way that hadn’t been done before. She was the around-the-way girl who you wanted to get with, but never disrespected. That style is emulated now in Rihanna, Normani, and Ciara among countless others. In her book, Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, Kathy Landoli writes that Aaliyah’s music is the blueprint for current R&B today.

Aaliyah’s music videos had become iconic before her passing in 2001 at the age of 22. But it was the last video that ultimately led to her death. The singer died in a plane crash while returning from filming her bittersweet release, “Rock the Boat.”

Her third studio album was self-titled and sprung several hits including “We Need a Resolution,” “I Care 4 U,” and “More than a Woman.”

The singer was said to have several deals in the works, including fashion endorsements and films. “Queen of the Damned” was released posthumously with “Romeo Must Die,” already being a box office smash. The soundtrack for the film did well too — thanks to the lead single “Come Back in One Piece,” featuring DMX.

Around this time, she had been linked romantically to super-producer and founder of Roc-a-Fella Records Damon Dash.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, which has now gone viral, Dash says he spoke to Aaliyah the day she died, and the singer expressed fears over the plane. It has become public knowledge now, that rock legend Lenny Kravitz offered his private plane to the singer — who had been dealing with a fear of flying for years. She never boarded that plane.

“But what I was really more tight about was that I had heard that Lenny Kravitz had offered her a jet and that Hype had took the jet…so, that’s what really pissed me off about the situation when I heard about that. So, you can ask Hype about that,” Dash told ET.

It’s impossible to not make comparisons between Dash and Aaliyah and Jay-Z and Beyonce. Could they have been a formidable couple had she lived?

Absolutely.

Aaliyah is still one of the most celebrated contemporary R&B singers today. She’s also one of the most sampled and copied. Her style, and vocal prowess was uniquely hers — a princess indeed, and one in a million.