Happy 19th Anniversary to Aaliyah's Red Album!

Happy 19th Anniversary to Aaliyah's self titled album, also known as Aaliyah's 'baby' and what we as fans dearly know it as the #RedAlbum. 19 years ago today on July 17th 2001, a masterpiece was released! 😎🙌🏽❤

A timeless classic that stands the test of time, Aaliyah's self titled album was the blueprint for so many artists of today's music. The magic that people made on this iconic album such as people like Static Major, Eric Seats, Rapture Stewart and J-Dub, truly captured the essence and spirit of Aaliyah both lyrically and musically. The very fact that this album was released in 2001, you would never think the music from this album reflected that era. This is something that continually amazes me as there were a lot of tracks which were recorded in the the mid and late 90's which actually featured on this masterpiece. A classic example would be 'I Care 4 U', a song which was originally intended for Aaliyah's second studio album 'One In A Million', but ended up being used on her third album instead! Crazy right?

Truth be told, no one was creating those sounds back then which is very telling as when you listen to this album, it sounds as fresh today then it ever did even back then. Baby Girl was truly ahead of her time, her vision of what and how she wanted things. Even the Japanese animation advert that was used and created by Warren Fu, was genius in terms of how everything was promoted and marketed. So with all that being said, let us take a trip down memory lane and listen to this full album below and celebrate a never ending legacy that we will never forget! ❤️

For a lot of fans I know it is very difficult to get a hold of Aaliyah's music via streaming platforms, and as fans there have been 2 petitions going around to help get Aaliyah's music, so if you would like to help, please sign both petitions below and spread the word to all your friends, families and loved ones! 

https://www.change.org/p/barryhankerson-aaliyah-music-streaming-services

https://www.change.org/p/barry-hankerson-give-us-aaliyah-s-music

Aaliyah: Romeo Must Die Premiere, 2000 (Rare Photo)

As promised I finally got around to scanning this slide I purchased awhile ago! 🙊 Here’s Aaliyah at the #RomeoMustDie premiere back in #2000. How gorgeous is this candid?! 😩😍❤ You can also peep Rashad beside her, but unfortunately the photographer cropped him out! Sorry Ra! Lol

Happy 38th Birthday To Aaliyah Dana Haughton!

Happy 38th Birthday to the beautiful Aaliyah Dana Haughton. 🙏💚 Normally I always draw something every year, so I’m quite disappointed within myself for not being able to do anything this year 😞 But seeing as it is our beloved Babygirl’s birthday, I thought I would share this never before seen rare for everyone! 🙊💕 (SN: I’m currently working on getting a decent slide scanner so that we can see this beauty in HQ. But for now….enjoy! 😉😘❤)
This is how I imagine Aaliyah right now, getting turnt up on her born day 😎 lol She was always so full of life and positive energy! 👑 Despite all the trials and tribulations I’ve been going through in my personal life, not a day goes by where this Queen doesn’t put a smile on my face. It’s because of her that I am able to become a more positive and better version of myself. Continuously seeing her angel signs on a daily, just like today when I saw 79p at the store, and that alone turns my frown upside down 😊 Thank you for always being there for me through your words, music as well as in my dreams (where it was a pleasure to see your beautiful smile once again, as if I were physically near you!) Your entire aura and energy transcends far deep than what anything or anyone can measure. Today we celebrate the 22 years of your life, that you gave to all of the world to see. Thank you for being a positive motivating force within our lives…One love ❤ 

Aaliyah Archives: News

Greetings to all of #TeamAaliyah. It's been awhile since I've posted any of my personal collections, so as a little teaser... I thought I would share with you all a little treasure piece (amongst others) I was able to get into my possession! :D Throughout all the red carpet events, this is one of my favourites for many reasons (mostly her slayage of an outfit!) so it only felt right to have something personal and worth adding to the archives ;) 

I'm also excited to announce that I will be posting some little rare gem pieces on the 25th. We all know that particular day is a hard time for all us fans to deal with, so seeing anything rare or new related to Aaliyah, just makes that day more special and easier to cope with. 

This year will mark 15 years exactly (I still can't get over how time has flown by so quickly!) since our beloved Babygirl, transcended from the waking life, into the spiritual realm, however...we will hold on, stay strong... and instead of dwelling upon her passing, we shall remember and celebrate the 22 years of her LIFE which she humbly dedicated to us all. ❤ 

Aaliyah: 15th Anniversary Of The Red Album (Producers Look Back On A Masterpiece)

Happy 15th Anniversary to Aaliyah’s self titled #RedAlbum which was released on 17th July 2001! 🎉👑 To me this album was way ahead of it’s time. You could truly see Aaliyah’s growth into womanhood, and how she was not afraid to experiment with different types of music genres/productions. This explains why to this very day, how this #masterpiece holds a lot of longevity. The fushions from Arabic, salsa, rock, classical, soul to name a few really pushed the boundaries for the R&B genre as a whole, bringing a whole new moden twist to the term ‘neo-soul’. A lot of which paved the way for other female R&B artists to take notes and be inspired by our Queen. Aaliyah was never afraid to try something different and to her, (as well as all those who worked on this album) I thank you for all the hardwork and effort you put into your craft. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what direction she would of possibly taken her music. All I do know is that her sound would of definitely been striving to achieve originality! 🙏💚

I was very busy on the day, so I was unable to post anything on my main blog , however...as a special treat, I happen to come across a lovely article courtesy of fuse.tv, who had the pleasure of interviewing the producers of this timeless masterpiece. So for anyone who missed it, you can read the full article below here...

Fuse spoke with J. Dub, Bud'da, Eric Seats and Rapture Stewart about the red LP, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this month.

Aaliyah flawlessly transitioned from tomboy teenager to confident woman with the release of her third and final studio album, released on July 17, 2001. While her previous LPs (Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number and One in a Million) leaned more toward R&B and soul, on Aaliyah she steered away from predictability and put forth a fresh sound with the help of a new production team. Along with longtime producer and friend Timbaland, Jeffrey “J. Dub” Walker, Stephen “Bud’da” Anderson and Key Beats (comprised of Eric Seats and Rapture Stewart) were the masterminds behind a record that has remained timeless. 

The album was recorded in New York, Los Angeles and Australia, where Aaliyah was filming Queen of the Damned. Along with writers Stephen “Static Major” Garrett and Benjamin “Black” Bush of R&B/hip-hop group Playa, the team shut out the outside world and worked on the LP for about two years.

“She was very sweet, very giving and open to suggestions. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t make the record, but she wasn’t scared to try new things,” Bud’da tells Fuse. Seats also reflected on Aaliyah’s personality in the studio, saying, "She’s low-key and not really animated. She’d just be in a corner pacing, popping that gum. Her and Static would talk about how a track made them feel, and they would go from there."

The LP found Aaliyah stepping far out of her sonic comfort zone. As she says in the second track, “Loose Rap,” “It ain’t just rhythm & blues.” The murky downtempo, produced by Key Beats, experimented with late-night underwater vibes before the sound was made popular by Drake’s right-hand man Noah “40” Shebib. It still remains a favorite for Key Beats and J. Dub. The song's title came from a slang term used by the producers and Static. 

"The saying 'loose rap' was something we always used to say in our regular talk," Stewart says. "We were joking around in the studio that day and that track was on, and Static just said it on the hook. A lot of the songs happened like that."

He also reveals that “Loose Rap” was almost going to be the album’s first single, and that the popularity of “Rock the Boat” called for a change of plans, and for a video. 

"The only reason they shot 'Rock the Boat' was because the radio was already playing it, so that kind of forced it to be the second single [instead of 'More Than a Woman']," Stewart says. "They went with Timbaland’s song for the first single because that was her sound at the time, but he was actually the last person to work on that album."

It turns out it was Aaliyah’s favorite song to record. “'Rock the Boat' hit her real hard," Stewart recalls. 

"She was the one advocating to make that a single, because [the label] was trying to make sure whatever Timbaland produced were up to be singles. But she gave them hell and refused to let them do things. Even Timbaland loved it."

“Loose Rap” was quickly programmed by Seats (in five minutes, to be exact), but his fast-work mentality almost got “Rock the Boat” deleted. He tells us, 

“Static heard it through my headphones. I took a break and went to the rest room, and by the time I got back he had already written a hook." Stewart continues, “I wouldn’t say it was an accident, but we weren’t vibing with it as much. It was one of those things like if he had came 10 minutes later, he probably would’ve never heard it."

Aaliyah’s strength is its diversity, as the album counteracted vibrant uptempos like “More Than a Woman” with the heart-wrenching “Never No More." Produced by Bud’da, it found the singer flexing her tender upper register over a beat that mixed old-school soul and hip hop.

"I wanted to create something that had a soulful feel with the classic instruments. After she laid the vocals, I had the idea to add the live strings and other elements around her voice to emphasize the words," Bud'da explains. "With the topic of the song being about abuse, I wanted you to feel that musically and hear the emotions. I wish everybody could’ve seen the emotions as well."

“Never No More” is his favorite track, due to the lyrical theme of domestic violence. 

"There's so many people quietly dealing with abuse and it’s just an unheard thing. I thought it was pretty upfront for that song and it was bold on her part to do it knowing that she has a great influence," he says.

Listeners were already familiar with Aaliyah’s delicate vocals, but the red album found her digging deeper into a low register that was grumbling, fierce and downright sexy. It can be heard on songs like the bass-heavy “Extra Smooth” and “Read Between the Lines.”

From the brass instrumentation to the chopped vocals, the Latin-influenced song is one of the highlights of Aaliyah. Bud’da recalls the fun recording experience:

"[There was] not only live horns, but I used a midi grand piano. Since I gave it a Latin feel, I decided to add the horns to go with it as an accent. Another thing I had done that I hadn’t heard before was adding certain stutters and echoes [to her voice]. There weren’t too many people doing it back then. Initially I had a longer version with more cool stuff, but for the sake of radio we decided to chop it down some."

While it wasn't planned to be a concept album, Aaliyah touched on different phases of a long-term relationship. Tracks like “U Got Nerve” are filled with aggression, where a fed-up Aaliyah sings to a no-good lover. “I Refuse,” one of the more experimental moments, builds on that frustration over a haunting cinematic beat. J. Dub, who loves film soundtracks, reveals he wanted to make the song big and orchestrated. 

“I started off with a basic piano and everything else I just built off of that. When she finished the vocals, I went back in and added the orchestra,” he says. 

The album continues to flip into different sounds, as breezy track 11 (the Key Beats–produced “It’s Whatever”) crashes into one of the LP’s most daring songs, “I Can Be.” It finds Aaliyah singing about infidelity and being the other woman. The risky move was made more in-your-face with the song’s intense rock and hip-hop influence. 

"It had such a great melody and I wanted to add something dark to go with it," Bud'da remembers. "So you’ve got your sweetness on the top but down below you just have this menacing thing that’s just pounding your speakers."

What most didn’t know was that Aaliyah was a fan of rock music, and Nine Inch Nails was one of her favourite acts. “I Can Be” was inspired by the genre, but it was the album’s closing track, “What If,” that ripped her familiar R&B sound to shreds. J. Dub says he never thought she would pick it, but it became one of the album’s defining moments with its menacing industrial production.

Aaliyah met her untimely death on Aug. 25, 2001 at the age of 22. She was gearing up to write for the first time and there are still five completed songs remaining in her vault. 

"I was her music director, so we were talking about doing a big tour and the whole nine. It was sad none of that ever happened. Even as big as that album is, to me her live performances were crazy," Stewart says.

Aaliyah went on to be certified double platinum and has influenced artists like The Weeknd, Tinashe, Rihanna and FKA Twigs. The producers agree that without the album, most singers won’t be as relevant to this day. 

Stewart points to one of the biggest performers of our time: 

"Say how Beyoncé is very innovative in her thinking now, to me that was Aaliyah. It’s absolutely no shade to her because we’ve worked with Destiny’s Child on Romeo Must Die [the soundtrack] and 'Survivor.' But her lane opened up so wide because there was a void left from Aaliyah. When we were in the studio with Beyoncé, she would praise her and the stuff we did with her. I wouldn’t say she looked up to her or anything like that, but she was definitely paying attention to Aaliyah’s growth."

(Source: http://www.fuse.tv/2016/07/aaliyah-self-titled-final-album-15th-anniversary-producers-interview)

Happy 14th Anniversary to Aaliyah's Self Titled Red Albim

My personal collection! :o)

#Happy14thAnniversary to Aaliyah’s self titled #RedAlbum released July 17th, 2001. All these years and I’ve still managed to look after it lol With a few additional collections finally added to my wish list! Everyone could tell that #Aaliyah was very proud with the body of work created on her last studio album. Thank you to all the producers/writers that took part in this journey, #TeamAaliyah salute you for creating such a wonderful, innovative album that still sounds current and fresh to this very day. What will you guys be doing to celebrate?

A video posted by Aaliyah Archives (@aaliyah_archives) on Jul 16, 2015 at 6:08am PDT

Aaliyah Archives: My Personal Collection

My Aaliyah goodies which arrived last week! Nothing beats having the physical copy at hand! :D I will be sure to scan these and share them with you all, when I get a chance, so stay tuned! ;) 

Aaliyah: The INFLUENTI/\L

So I found a couple of surprises that came with my crewneck! I had no idea until I checked the rest of my parcel! Lol! But me being the creative person that I am, I have a lot of random postcard collages, and thought this would look great next to my Aaliyah poster. Its weird because it's as if they were all meant to be together. One of them says..."The city lights glowed in the distance" very appropriate right? ;) But anyhoo...if you're not familiar, please check out @theinfluential for original, innovative designs by the lovely @aaliyahalways :o)

Happy 13th Anniversary to Aaliyah's Self Titled Red Album!

Jamming the 'old skool' way! :o)

My personal collection.

Drawing I made especially for the 13th Anniversary.

The whole album artwork! (My Edit)

So today marks the 13th Anniversary of Aaliyah's self titled red album! So as a special tribute today, I have showcased some of my personal collection, along with a drawing I did. Something which I am starting to get back into again, since I have always been quite a creative person! :o) Now...I have been showing love everywhere else, but my blog is the main spot where I should be showing majority of my love. I did have a few issues before, but hopefully they should be ok now, so I do apologise if I have replied back late to emails, and not posted as much, so just letting you all know that I am alive and not just a ghost page! lol!

It's hard to believe that it's already been 13 years since Aaliyah's 'baby' as she called it, came out, and after all these years her music still continues to sound so fresh to this very day. I can honestly say that this album was way ahead of its time both musically and lyrically, with the likes of Timbaland, Missy, Static Major, J-Dub, Bud'da, Black etc... It's no surprise why this albums longevity has still remained over these past years and counting.

I can only wonder if she were still around today, what kind of music she would be coming out with, since Aaliyah was always a trendsetter and one step ahead of the game. You can definitely see her growth from her tomboy 'street yet sweet' days to the beautiful woman she had become, and it's sad to know that her life got cut so short in such a tragic way. I always felt that it was never her time to go, since she had only reached her peak and had so much more to offer to the world. No words can fathom or comprehend the day she went away, but I shall forever and always be a fan. A huge thank you to all those who contributed to this album, it truly is a classical masterpiece within it's own right. One love. <3