Man, I remember exactly where I was when I got the news that Aaliyah died. I was laying on the couch in my mother’s house and my two way pager (yes, the Motorola two-way, which I guess was the original text messaging) went off. I was getting a news alert about Aaliyah. The message said that the young singer was involved in a plane crash. I was shocked. I immediately turned to MTV (back when MTV actually talked about music more regularly) and surely they were reporting her tragic death. I flipped over to BET and watched AJ and Free (yep, back when 106 & Park was decent) talk about Aaliyah, with different people calling in to talk about how they felt. It was sad. She has another young artist cut down during a rise. At the time I was publishing a small entertainment newsletter, so I started working on a piece, as my phone and pager went off for the next few hours with people calling to ask me if I had heard the news.
I still can’t believe it eight years later. We’ll never really know her full potential as an artist or what her overall contribution to music would have been. Over the last few weeks I’ve discussed with folks online what things would be like in music had Aaliyah not died in that plane crash. I don’t necessarily think that the landscape of female artists would have changed much, but perhaps Aaliyah would have just been a dominating force on the scene. What do you think?
I still can’t believe it eight years later. We’ll never really know her full potential as an artist or what her overall contribution to music would have been. Over the last few weeks I’ve discussed with folks online what things would be like in music had Aaliyah not died in that plane crash. I don’t necessarily think that the landscape of female artists would have changed much, but perhaps Aaliyah would have just been a dominating force on the scene. What do you think?
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**Sigh** I remember it like it was yesterday. After countless shades in highschool and Aaliyah Swoop hair long and knowing all her songs and dance routines I STILL miss her it's crazy! She was so young & definately doing her thang....
ReplyDeleteI was a big Aaliyah fan, she wasn't a master vocalist or anything, but she was one of those nicely well-rounded artists that didn't have to try too hard to accomplish it. It was effortless, I always respected that...
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame. She had so much potential and had accomplished so much at such a young age. I step back and look at the media and see nothing but horrible "role models" for young girls, talentless, selling sex. I mean, look at all the celebrities who are famous for sex tapes.. Come on.. Aaliyah is just one of those artists I will always respect, so much talent and potential. R.I.P. Girl.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the day I found out.
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