I'd say I'm a fan, but a lot of people tend to overrate her because she's dead. She left a permanent mark on her genre of music, and will be missed. What do you think of her?
There's a romanticism to death, when it happens to the young or the famous -- more so, when the one who died was both. Sometimes, death makes one what they wanted to be when alive, in a sort of cruel irony. As for Aaliyah, excluding that atrocious Lifetime Channel movie a while ago, many people seem to have forgotten her. I've heard Aaliyah's name dropped, here and there, usually from rappers who had to be in diapers when she was alive. Even less remembered is Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, of TLC, but it seems she'll be replaced with that eerie hologram technology. Just... yeah... Aaliyah was a beautiful woman, that's for sure. While I don't think she was as great as folks made her out to be, shortly after her death, she wasn't without talent. I also believe she was just beginning to hit her stride, and would have been bigger than she was, had she survived that plane fiasco. This is what makes her appealing, because there's all sorts of speculation about what Aaliyah could have done but, for whatever reason, life decided against her achieving. Personality-wise, she was typically mellow and fun. I liked that. A lot. But, again, it's hard to say how she'd have become, if given more time and exposure to the entertainment industry. It has corrupted greater individuals, sadly. Still, she, like Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur, are a part of those entertainment what-ifs and theories, especially in regard to how the landscape would be nowadays. And... I may or may not have had an Aaliyah poster in my room.
Really? Not many know about Aaliyah, around here. They know the name, yes, but that's about it. When it comes to black women with straight hair, Beyonce seems to be the go-to. In fact, Beyonce seems to have become standard for all black women, which has some pros, like the being influential, and some cons, like the aesthetic controversies.
Yep, everyone from Rihanna and Beyonce to Tinashe and Jhene Aiko. Most people who work in Hip Hop know Aaliyah's name if not her music. ---------- Post added 6th Apr 2015 at 05:10 AM ---------- Even Angel Haze got compared to Aaliyah, nevermind the fact that she's a rapper....
You mean the music industry. Well, of course they'd remember Aaliyah. I know locally, most younger folks (20 and under) don't know much about her, only that she's to be whatever the media tells them to think about her. It's kind of like Marilyn Monroe, people know the name and have a general idea about her, but most claim to idolize her without knowing enough. It has been long enough, I suppose milking Aaliyah's image in some romanticized "search for the next Aaliyah" is on the table. This means my Aaliyah t-shirt is going to be seen as cashing in on a trend, and not because I actually remember her being alive. Lovely...
I love Aaliyah and it is unfortunate that she passed away for a very young age. We can agree that she is not the greatest in terms of vocal ability but I think she had so much potential and I still regard "Are You That Somebody" as one of my favourite songs of all time and it was something fresh at that time. Another thing I admired from her was her down to earth persona and it shows that people whom she worked with in the music industry really loved her. I remember watching a Missy Elliot interview and she talked about her death and you can really tell that they were close together. Aaliyah is missed because she was beautiful inside and out. We knew she could have been in the making if it werent for the tragic plane crash.
Even when I think of Aaliyah now, it still makes me very sad. There were times where I would cry and cry and cry about her passing, but I'm comforted by the fact that Aaliyah wouldn't want me to be sad about her death, and to remember her as a person who lived and died doing what she loved.
I'd still do anything to have her back though. ---------- Post added 23rd Apr 2015 at 09:45 AM ---------- I can remember bits and pieces of that struggle film, but wasn't there an Iphone in there along with an '06 Honda Accord?
I think she was a really cool R&B should singer and that she didn't totally look like a sex symbol she would just wear baggy pants. I think she died way too young at 22.
I miss her, while I didn't like all of her music, I did like some. I still rewatch Queen of the Damned because of her.
And don't even get me started on the Aaliyah/Beyonce comparisons. The saddest thing is they seemed friendly, there's a video of them talking some time before Aaliyah's death, and they had love for each other : [YOUTUBE]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rnBMWN4aw30&api_format=3&vndel=watch[/YOUTUBE]. But some of Beyonce's rabid fans come for anyone who says something bad about her, it doesn't matter if the person saying they adored Aaliyah was pitting her against Beyonce or actually appreciating her.
Anyone who dies young is frozen in time in people's minds. Sometimes I wonder what the world would think of Jimmy Hendrix, or James Dean, or Janis Joplin if they'd lived. Would they be filming awful reality shows to remind people they exist? Would they be 70 years old and dancing on stage in skinny jeans like Mick Jagger? Would we be wishing they'd just go away? As for Aaliyah, I just saw Queen of the Damned for the first time a few weeks ago on HBO or Showtime and I liked it, but then again I do like campy/cheesy vampire stuff. (I loooooove True Blood.) I don't know how, but I'd never seen that actor who played Lestat. Aaliyah was pretty good! I think she could have been a popular actress.
I've always been a fan of Aaliyah's ever since the guy in the music store at that time persuaded me to buy her first album/CD..."Age Ain't Nothing But A Number", The only song that I was familiar with in regards to her was "Back and Forth". Since the CD was on sale and the guy guaranteed me that I would enjoy it...I purchased it and was a fan of hers ever since. Although she has passed on, I still hear and see her videos quite often on certain music channels. In fact, she had recorded certain songs that are still relevant to a lot of music that had been released since her passing and that says a lot to me.
I think Aaliyah is better than Rihanna, but not better than Bey. I loved her in Queen of the Damned. She's so attractive. I'd hit it. I hate that she passed away. She had so much potential. :/
