Aaliyah Art: Courtesy Of Derek Lee

Repost from @dleestyle: "... BG... #art #painting #fineart #graffiti #streetart #streetart #style #love #fashion #aaliyah #icon" | This is soooo beautiful! :o)

Aaliyah: Karl Kani's Book, Holiday 2014

For all those who are avid collectors, here is one book you might want to add to your list! To some of you folks out there the name Karl Kani should already ring a bell. If you all remember awhile back, he shared some never before seen pics of our beloved Babygirl. To refresh your memories, here are all the pictures he shared below...

Right, now you're probably wondering what the big deal is right? Well, Karl Kani himself happened to share a small video snippet of his new book, which is going to be released around Christmas time this year. Anyhoo, peep the video below and check out the goods! ;)

@karl_kani: #originator THE BOOK holiday 2014 by #KarlKani"

Aaliyah: Rare Photo

Repost from @ateam628 Thank you so much for sharing! Babygirl looks so adorable in this pic! :o) :D 

@ateam628: "I have this photo of Aaliyah framed in the office. I have others from our sessions together but for some reason this one stands out. Could be the "let me eat my Crackerjacks in peace" look she has. Lol. I think this was the night we cut "I Don't Wanna" (still @pharrell fav song of mine) or "I Miss You". Anyway, Babygirl if you're checking in with it from time to time, then you know the world still misses you dearly! #whydothegooddieyoung?"

Happy 18th Anniversary to Aaliyah's One In A Million Album

My personal collection :o)

Happy 18th Anniversary to one of my fav albums 'One In A Million'. This album is true to its name, and one which paved its way during the mid 90's era. Such a timeless classic, and simply just one of those albums you never have to skip a track on. To me personally, this really made Aaliyah transition musically from her 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number' era into something special and magical. Aaliyah was never afraid to experiment with her sound, such examples are Timbalands cricket noises you hear in the background off the song OIAM. R&B was at its peak during this time, with many other artists offering many classic 90's vibes. But the sound that Missy and Timbaland brought to the table, no one was ready for! So ahead of its time! I thank you @timbaland and @missyelliottofficial for your hard work, craft and most importantly...offering something unique to the R&B genre.

Aaliyah: Rare Photo Courtesy Of Teddy Bishop

Teddy Bishop: #Aaliyah It was a great pleasure an honor working with you. The energy and talent that you gave to this earth still shines bright. You will always be remembered and missed. Continue to enjoy your journey. #MissYou produced by @teddyalexanderbishop (at Eoa Digital)

Aaliyah: Rare Photos

Thanks to @gtvreality for sharing these beautiful rare photos of our Beloved Babygirl! :o) :D

Aaliyah: Rare Photo

Repost from @djshortmanhh 

@djshortmanhh: "Before the night is out I had post this for Baby Girl #Aaliyah I only put this pic up twice a year on her Bday an on the day she pass witch is today. We miss u baby Girl #heavyhitters #ShortBoss #celebrityDJ"

Aaliyah: Rare Photos Courtesy of Stylist Derek Lee

Repost from @dleestyle. For the first photo his caption read...

@dleestyle: " ... #photobomb ... sad, pissed & thankful is some mentally tiring shit...!" 

And for the second photo...

@dleestyle: "#crew ... #peoples ... #fam ... ❤"

I adore seeing moments of Aaliyah acting carefree and goofing around with her friends. No matter how many pictures I see, Aaliyah was always smiling no matter what hard times came though her way. Something which I admired about her the most. ♥

Aaliyah: Rare Photo

Repost from @mardin323 Thank you for sharing! :o)

@mardin323: "Aaliyah...Forever beautiful, Forever young, Forever an angel, Forever you will always remain in our hearts. It's been to long and I'm still lost without you. If you didn't have to go, everything would be so different. I Miss You. #Aaliyah #IMissYou #BabyGirl #RIP" 

Aaliyah: Rare Photo

Repost from @inkedboyaz  

@inkedboyaz: "LOL...! I can still see your face on audition day, I can still hear your laugh fill the black box, and how you always remember what to tell Whitney when you met her. WoW 13 years and still feels like yesterday. Thanks for being you LaLa.....! Miss you, but I me sure you and Wana are have a ball. RIP" 

Aaliyah: Rare Photo

Repost from @sharoncarpenter. Thank you for sharing this rare gem! I wish I could of had the chance to of met Aaliyah personally! :o)

@sharoncarpenter: "I had the pleasure of meeting #Aaliyah just before her untimely death. She came across as very kind and humble - beautiful inside and out."

Aaliyah: My Illustration

So I have been meaning to get back into my drawing again, since it's been awhile that I've let my creative juices flow freely, but I'm really happy with how this piece has turned out. I shall plan on doing more drawings in the near future too, since Babygirl is my biggest inspiration after all. I hope you guys like it! :o) (For a better view, just click on the image to zoom in!) 

A A L I Y A H

  

Released: July 17th 2001

Recorded: 1998 – March 2001

Label: Blackground/Virgin Records

Last but not least we have the third and final studio album titled A A L I Y A H. After releasing One In A Million, and also setting up her profile even higher by releasing hit single soundtracks such as Are You That Somebody and Try Again. Aaliyah recorded the album around 1998 (quite amazing considering that the songs on this album sound so fresh to this day!) but had to reschedule her recording time since she started taking acting roles in TV dramas & films such as New York Undercover (1997), Romeo Must Die (2000) and Queen Of The Damned (2002). Babygirl was quite a busy woman juggling both her singing and acting career. During the time where she was shooting her role for Queen Of The Damned which was shot in the day time, she would make time for her music and do most of her recording at the night (talk about commitment and dedication!)

Personally for me, this album goes hard in terms of the unique sounds from Timbo and lyrical content with people such as Missy Elliot and Static Major from R&B group Playa. Aaliyah touched on many aspects of relationships from Rock The Boat which is very sensual and sexual to I Care 4 U (Originally recorded with the One In A Million album) where it talks about a woman holding it down for a man on his down days and showing him that no matter what, she will always be there to comfort him and keep him happy always (something I can truly relate to). With regards to production we have many interesting sounds introducing many genre's with infused flavors of Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul, Funk, Electronica, Middle Eastern, Alternative Rock and Latin.

During the time of her heightened film career Aaliyah was well known for being a huge Nine Inch Nails fan and admired a lot of Trent Reznors (lead singer of Nine Inch Nails) work who she wanted to work with and produce a track. Unfortunately they never got around to this as their busy hectic schedules would always clash with one another. I always do wonder what the tracks would of sounded like if they ever had the chance to create something, as Trent Reznor has made a lot of interesting soundtracks for many films. I'm sure they would of no doubt created something spectacular and special.

Ultimately it saddens me that she had passed away just after shooting her Rock The Boat video, since she had so much more to give to her fan base. Essentially she was like a triple threat, not only could she sing, she could dance and act, so you will always question and think to yourself, how far could she have gone at the peak of her career? During this time she was also aware of what was happening with the UK Garage scene which was at it's height in the early 2000's. Who knows...she might of even thrown a little 2 step Garage beat for other future releases. Definitely an album that was way ahead of its time.

Age Ain't Nothing But A Number: The Video Collection

Here is a collection of all the hit singles from Age Ain't Nothing But a number. You'll notice that all the videos use the same footage, or have been edited slightly. This is how Blackground Records released it, especially the last video for The Thing I Like, as it was originally meant to be released for a 'radio only' single. 

It's crazy to think that this video was created during the 90's where movement of type, imagery and lyrics was such a new and innovative thing to do. Yet today, we see it in the majority of music videos that we encounter such as Kanye West's Good Life and Rihanna's You Da One. Definitely ahead of its time I must say! 

Anyways...sit back, relax and enjoy the old skool 90's vibes below! :o)

Age Ain't Nothing But A Number

Released: May 24th 1994

Recorded: September 1993 – April 1994

Label: Blackground/Jive/BMG Records

Here we have the very first album that jump started Aaliyah's career with her main hit singles Back & Fourth, At Your Best (You Are Love) and Age Ain't Nothing But A Number. Two more singles were also released internationally which were Down With The Clique and The Thing I like. When you listen to the album, you get a real feel good vibe for what the 90's was all about in terms of musicality, fashion and overall peoples outlook on life with the lyrical content. Personally, when I listen to this album it takes me back to that place of when I was younger, where life was simple and love was pure and honest. 

Now obviously as you guys all know, this was during her more tom-boyish days where she was still finding herself at such a young age. I have always admired this about Babygirl, as she never relied on her 'womanly assets' to gain attention, she let the music speak for itself. Even being fully clothed and covered, (minus her stomach, which to be honest...if I had abs like hers I would want to show them off too!) she still had that 90's swag which was classy and effortless. Her trademark look with her sultry eyes, half peaking through the shades was instant to catch on with others in no time. Above all else, she was naturally sexy in her own way, with her glowing sex-appeal of confidence! (Take note ladies!)

Now, there was however a lot of controversy within this album where a lot of speculation was spreading in regards to Babygirls relationship with R.Kelly. Since R.Kelly was one of the main producers of this album, including mentoring and being the lead song writer, he brought a lot of his 'New Jack Swing' sound during the production process. So throughout this time, there was obviously no doubt they had a close relationship, since they worked on a lot of songs together. Essentially, R.Kelly was showing Babygirl the ropes of what being a singer was all about, but at the same time I would not condemn the actions of someone older taking advantage of someone young and vulnerable, you're just asking for trouble... case closed. To Aaliyah's credit, she handled interviews very well when questioned on this, showing that if you smile and stay positive no one can really break you down, no matter how difficult the situation may be.

Aaliyah's description of the album:

She felt that the songs "Came at you kind of tough, a bit edgy, Hip-Hop, but the vocals can be very soothing". She also added that "Lyrically I want things to be different".