Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16th, 1979 as Aaliyah Dana Haughton. She was moved to Detroit when she was five years old. I think her first acting role was as an orphan when her elementary school performed the play, "Annie." She wasn't the main orphan. At 10 years old, she performed on Star Search, which was a very popular talent show at the time. She lost. When she was 11 years old, she performed with Gladys Knight. Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson, was Gladys' ex-husband. It was at age 12 that the things happened, which caused her music career to soar.
Barry was the manager for Robert Kelly, better known as R. Kelly. R. Kelly was a popular singer and extraordinary producer then, as he is now. With guidance and guest vocals from R. Kelly, Aaliyah's first album was formed. It was called, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number."
Shortly after she became popular, rumors started. People were saying Aaliyah had a relationship with R. Kelly. While the rumors were never publicly confirmed, the stories were fueled by the title of her album, and the obviously close relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly.
The next album was, "One In A Million." With this albums addition Aaliyah's success grew even more. Her list of songs for movie soundtracks was increasing too.
Her biggest contribution to a soundtrack was probably for the movie, "Romeo Must Die." This was also her first movie role. Aaliyah was one of the stars who played alongside Jet Li, a popular actor and martial artist. She played her role well, as DMX played his well. They collaborated on the soundtrack. Timbaland was on the album too. We haven't seen the last of Aaliyah either. She has at least two movies that are not released yet.
This brings us to Aaliyah's third album, "Aaliyah." Her first single, "We Need A Resolution," shows how she has grown as a woman. At only 22 years old, Aaliyah had a successful movie, two successful albums, and many fans behind her. She had an even more promising career in front of her. Her last artistic work was the filming of the music video, "Rock The Boat."
After the filming of the video, Aaliyah and those who worked with her were returning home on a small plane. The plane crashed, killing everyone onboard. I think maybe we should use this to help us understand what is really important, since even a person who has "everything" can suddenly loose it all.
In Loving Memory
of
Aaliyah Dana Haughton
