Aaliyah: McNichols Arena, Denver, 1998 (Rare Photo)

🔁 via @philippembuido: "TBT...with Aaliyah in Denver all those years ago... #aaliyah" He also mentioned in another comment a full background story behind this image saying... "This is in Denver, 1998 for her show at McNichols Arena. She performed with The Superfriends...if I remember correctly: Missy, Timbaland & Magoo and Ginuwine. I promoted her second album “One In A Million” while at Atlantic Records. I was with her on numerous occasions, taking her to urban radio stations, Denver west. I’ve got a few more pics with her which I will post in the near future. It was a pleasure working with such a beautiful human being.💯"

Thank you so much for sharing! Enhanced the image for better clarity too, enjoy! 😊❤ (Update: Found the full version pic below, enjoy!❤️)

Aaliyah, Ginuwine & Juliette Jones: Rare Photo

🔁via @essence of Aaliyah, Ginuwine & Juliette Jones. The @atlanticrecords executive remembers Aaliyah on a podcast called #UnBossed (which you can find via spotify below). 😊👍🏽

Thanks to @favouritethingsbyazzizz
for the tag! ❤

Aaliyah: Backstage in Atlantic City, 1995 (Rare Photo's)

🔁 via @favouritethingsbyazzizz: “Aaliyah and her crew backstage at her concert in Atlantic City, 1995. Peep @radmax6 on the first pic 😍 (photos courtesy of Vanessa Jordan) #Aaliyah #AgeAintNothingButANumber#RashadHaughton” | Love it!! Thank you for sharing! 😍❤

Aaliyah As Featured Cameo in Timbaland feat. Playa, Magoo & Missy Elliott's: Here We Come

Released: November 1998

Recorded: 1997/1998

Label: Blackground/Atlantic/Virgin

First and foremost I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter! :o) I hope you are all in good spirits. Now I know I have not been posting much, but for those who are wondering I am well and alive! ;) I have a lot of drafts that I have yet to post, so lets get down to business shall we? lol Now awhile ago, I posted a lot of cameo appearances where our beloved Babygirl happened to feature in, so I would like to continue posting the rest of her cameo appearances so that we have a complete archive. 

Now here's a classic joint which takes me wayyy back! Here We Come featuring the likes of Timbaland, Magoo, Missy and backing vocals from R&B group Playa, was the lead single from Timbaland's solo debut album – 'Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment'. The music video itself was premiered in mid October 1998, on music channel MTV2 (that channel definitely takes me back!). Now, although the song charted and was released via radio airplay in November 1998, it did not gain any 'physical release' in the US until March 2nd 1999 and October 5th 1999 for Germany (shows how much patience people had back then!).

Personally, as I do with any video/track from the Timbo Fam, since Ginuwine also features as a guest cameo, these guys were so ahead of their time it's unreal. The whole idea of transforming a music video into a moving graphic novel was just original for it's time. If we look back at other music videos during the early 2000's, we have also encountered this with other artists too, such as Mariah Carey and Eminem. If you listen to the track carefully, you can hear the songs concept and interpolation based on the early Spider-Man comic series, showing that playful, childish superhero/heroin side in us all. And as always, our beloved Babygirl is looking extra fly with the highlights in her hair! Love it! :D Anyhoo, peep the videos below to compare and contrast the musicality! The bottom video can only be viewed via youtube, so click on the link and it should direct you. Enjoy everyone! :o)

Aaliyah As Featured Cameo In Timbaland & Magoo's: Luv 2 Luv Ya (Remix)

Released: November 11th 1997

Recorded: 1996 – 1997

Label: Blackground/Atlantic

And here we have Timbaland & Magoo's Luv 2 Luv Ya (Remix). I have to say, I love Aaliyah in this video! The black leather outfit is just fire! And her dance moves? Could she of gotten any better? Even though her appearances were short in the video, Babygirl was killing it with the time she had. If you look more closely, you even get the chance to see other artists such as Static Major and Ginuwine, who also feature as a cameo in the video. As we all know, the Timbaland crew at the time were very tight, which shows as they were very much like family, which is expressed in the very last image above. Another throw back 90's joint to add to the mix! Enjoy! :o)

Aaliyah As Featured Cameo In Lil' Kim's: Crush On You

Released: June 13th 1997

Recorded: 1996

Label: Atlantic/Queen Bee Entertainment

Here's another old but gold track with Lil' Kim's Crush On you featuring our Babygirl who busted out some tight dance moves in this video. Now, normally I hate using the word 'swag' because it's been over used so much, but if I could define swag in the right context, it would definitely have to be in this video, where to Aaliyah's credit, she oozed 'swag appeal', but in an effortless way. Now that's true definition, when someone isn't even trying. Take notes people! 90's nostalgia at its best! Enjoy guys! :o)

Aaliyah ft Rashad Haughton: Death Of A Playa

Released: March 11th 1997

Recorded: 1996 Pyramid Studios

Label: Blackground/Atlantic

Here's the B-side from Aaliyah's 4 Page Letter single titled Death Of A Playa, which features her very own brother Rashad Haughton. The song itself was produced by Timbaland and written by both Aaliyah and Rashad. Later on it was also included on the US version of Babygirl's Double A-Side single release of The One I Gave My Heart To and Hot Like Fire. Now personally, when I first came across this track I was going through a very dark period of my life, so when I listened to it, I felt a connection with it straight away, as the mood of it is so dark and mysterious, it just takes you to a whole other dimension. Essentially, kind of mirroring Aaliyah's personality, as she was always quite the 'mysterious' character. Also, both Rashad and Aaliyah's vocals blend so nicely on this track, you can really tell that they put a lot of thought and time into making this.

The song talks about how you get with a guy who originally started off as a bad boy 'playa', thinking he could get any woman he wanted to, until he comes across that one special lady in his life who changed it all, causing the 'death' of the playa within him. She made him realise the worth and value of a woman by the power of her undenying love for him, thus changing his whole outlook and perspective on relationships as a whole. Now personally, I have never encountered this, but I'm sure some of you guys out there may have. If anything, I love the fact at how Babygirl always touched upon topics that were rarely ever talked about, and on this occasion here is one of them. Anyways, please check out the video below to listen and enjoy! :o)

Timbaland & Magoo ft. Aaliyah and Missy Elliot: Up Jumps Da Boogie

Released: July 11th 1997

Recorded: 1996

Label: Blackground Records/Atlantic

Now here's a throwback for all of you Babygirl fans out there! Here is the the debut single from Timbo and Magoo's Welcome To Our World. The track also features Missy Elliot and a guest appearance from Ginuwine who was very close with all of the Timbo crew as a whole. Charts wise, the song reached to number one on the Hot Rap Singles (no surprise there!)

I don't know about you, but to me this shows what true talent was all about. No one is flaunting their body all out there for attention, and the rapping shows true skill and imagination, something which a lot of new artists lack these days. Take notes folks! And as always, Aaliyah's mesmerising voice just sends shivers down your spine with her alluring, angelic appeal. The Timbo crew was definitely a force not to be reckoned with, since they were at the peak of their game during the 90's. Both production wise and lyrically I cannot fault this track since it delivers 100%. Anyways, you know the drill, check out the video below and enjoy some real good music! :o) 

Anastasia Soundtrack: Journey To The Past

Here is one of Aaliyah's soundtracks for the film Anastasia. It was released as a single from the album Journey To The Past and was also featured as the seventh single in her studio album One In A Million. I personally remember watching this film as a little girl and instantly fell in love with it. The fact that Aaliyah contributed to it, just added as a bonus for me. It was released in 1997, as you can clearly tell as we see a young Aaliyah acting as a role model for all the other younger girls out there. From this video alone, you can really tell that she was great with the kids. I also like the mixture of animation within in it, as it's something all the children liked back then. I find that children (specifically us 80's/90's babies) enjoyed a lot of simpler stuff back then, such as the double dutch/skipping ropes, riding bikes and generally having a good time without the aids of modern technology such as mobile phones. Oh how I miss the 90's! Anyhoo, peep the video above to watch in full. :o)

One In A Million

Released: August 27th 1996
Recorded: August 1995 – July 1996 
Label: Blackground/Atlantic

Here we have Aaliyah's second studio album release One In A Million. After facing allegations of her illegal marriage with R.Kelly, Babygirl publicly announced ending her contract with Jive Records. The album had a variety of producers including the likes of Timbaland, Missy Elliot and Jermaine Dupri. Personally this has to be one of my favorite albums of all time. Song after song, there is no need to skip a track, since each song delivers something unique in terms of the lyrics and the overall growth of Babygirls music. This album truly shows where she was finding herself both musically and as a person. As we can see, still staying true to her tom-boyish roots, she added a certain quirkiness of her feminine charm to the table, where we really see her maturing into the lovely woman that she always was.

The album produced six singles which were If Your Girl Only Knew, One In A Million, Got To Give It Up, 4 Page Letter, Hot Like Fire and The One I Gave My Heart To. The production process of it was mainly down to Missy Elliot and Timbaland who wrote and produced a majority amount of the album content. Fifty seven songs were recorded in total for the album, but most of them were cut from the final product. One of those tracks included one called Sugar & Spice, which was the very first track Aaliyah recorded with both Missy and Timbaland. However, due to label disagreements with the song it never made the final cut. Another track that was meant to be included on the album was I Care 4 U, which was never completed in time for mastering. It was however later included on Babygirls third studio album titled Aaliyah. 

All in all...this album is definitely 'One In A Million' which no one can compare to. Even the Intro and Outro on the album had a certain 'spark' where I could imagine it being longer in duration like a full track. Timbaland really worked his magic here, and in a sad way I feel as though since Aaliyah had passed away, his drive for music was never the same, almost as if something was missing. I have a lot of respect for the man, but I wish he could go back to the style which set him apart from everyone else out there in the first place, rather than opting for the current mainstream alternative, which quite frankly sounds too generic. Oh well...we can always have hope.

Reviews From Others:

Music critic Dream Hampton for Vibe Magazine said that Aaliyahs "deliciously feline" voice has the same "pop appeal" as Janet Jackson's and is complemented by the producers "funky, coherant" tracks.

Q magazine said that, with "her smooth, sweetly seductive vocal firmly to the fore, [Aaliyah] works through a set of predominantly slow and steamy swing-beat numbers, all clipped beats, luxurious melodies and dreamy harmonies".

Slant Magazine said that it is "undoubtedly one of the most influential R&B albums of the '90s," and credited it for establishing "Aaliyah and the Timbo family as undeniable Hip-Hop forces."