A couple of years later, Barry Hankerson (Aaliyah's uncle and owner of Blackground Enterprises) had R. Kelly fly up to Detroit and listen to Aaliyah sing. Kelly was impressed with what he heard so Hankerson signed Aaliyah to his label at only 13 years old. R. Kelly ended up writing and producing all the songs on Aaliyah's first album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number.
Rumors began to rise. One rumor was about Aaliyah's true age was really older then she had said it was. Another rumor was that R. Kelly and Aaliyah got married. Both rumors weren't true. After the storm had settled Aaliyah went back into the studio to record her second album, One In A Million. She left R. Kelly behind to show her growth as an artist. A lot of singles on this album got her numerous nominations from various award shows.
Aaliyah soon took a break from the music world and hooked up with acting coach Joanne Baron. In the summer of 1999 Aaliyah flew to Canada to shoot Romeo Must Die, her debut starring role in a film. It did great in the box office the first week it came out.
Later in 2000, she started shooting her second movie called Queen Of The Damned. After shooting that she went back into the studio to record songs for her eagerly anticipated self-titled alum, Aaliyah. It was realesd on July 17, 2001. It sold over 200,000 copies the first week it came out.
On August 25 she had just finished shooting ''Rock The Boat'' in the Bahama's and was ready to go home. So, her and the rest of her crew got in a small private jet. Shortly after the departure the plane crashed due to an overload of luggage and people on the plane. Everyone aboard was killed.
Everyone was saddened by this tragedy. Aaliyah means ''the highest most exalted one; the best'' and while Aaliyah was here on Earth she truly lived up to the meaning.
