Aaliyah ft. Static Major: Steady Ground

Released: 2005

Recorded: Unknown

Label: Blackground Records

Here is a track which some of you may not have heard before. Steady Ground which features the likes of Playa's – Static Major and producer J-Dub  is one of the left over tracks which was originally going to be put on Aaliyah's third studio album, self titled AALIYAH. Below I have a mini interview where J-Dub himself talks about the making of this track and why it never made the cut on the album. Now again, I was going to share the audio content via youtube, but youtube likes to be annoying by deleting the audio content, so luckily I have the audio content myself which I will share with you via my Tumblr blog. :o) I remember when I first came across this track, I was like wow, how have I not heard this before. I always make it part of my duty to know everything and anything about Babygirl, so if I come across something new I have to share it! :o) Production wise, I like the use of beats as it's not something you hear everyday. Very innovative both musically and lyrically. Anyways, please listen and enjoy this lovely track! :o) 

Listen here for Aaliyah ft. Static Major – Steady Ground

http://sanchinitodiego.tumblr.com/post/63169083082

J-Dub: “It was really the first single after “Rock The Boat”, but my engineer was mixing the record and somehow lost the vocals. So the vocals that you hear are really just the demo vocals. The final vocals got erased, so yeah. So that’s why it didn’t make the album.”

Aaliyah: Fader Magazine, The Icon Issue 54 (May/June 2008)

Hey guys! Here are all the full page spread articles from Fader Magazine (in order of appearance) from front cover, contents, editors letter, illustrations, appendix page and detailed written interviews from Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Kidada Jones (Aaliyah's best friend), Ciara, Cassie, Damon Dash and more! I hope you enjoy this read as much as I did! :o)

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaliyah: Quit Hatin' (Unreleased Track)

Released: 2013

Recorded: Unknown

Label: Blackground Records

Hello my fellow Babygirl fans out there! :o) Now here's an unreleased track that not many people have heard. I originally was going to upload it as a video like I normally do to share the audio content, but for legal reasons Blackground Records decided to banish the track on youtube, so for anyone who is searching for this track on youtube and suddenly come across a blank audio, that is why. If you would like me to send you this track personally, please email me at theaaliyaharchives@gmail.com.

The track itself came out randomly this year, and obviously a lot of buzz was going around it. Anyone who is a fan knows that this is like new music for our hearts and souls, so to hear our beloved Babygirl on something unheard of is very refreshing :o) Now, from what I know, the song is a remix mash up of Aaliyah's other unreleased songs titled Don't Be Jealous and He Keeps Me Shakin' which you can pick up on when you listen to the lyrics where Aaliyah sings – 'Quit Hatin' on him, don't be jealous'. 

As for samples, you all know me, I have a good ear when it comes to picking up on certain lyrics and musical content, and to my surprise I realised that there is a certain part from Quit Hatin' which has been used on A$AP Rocky's – F**kin' Problems ft. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar. Notedly Aaliyah's 'ohhhh' chanting which is played throughout the whole of F**kin' Problems. The only difference? The pitch shift to disguise the fact that it's been used. Y'all can't fool me! lol! Ok now because I am so nice, I am going to share the audio content of Quit Hatin' via my own personal tumblr page, so feel free to follow! :o) But anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this track as much as I did since it sounds so fresh. Enjoy guys! :o)

Listen here for: Aaliyah – Quit Hatin'

http://sanchinitodiego.tumblr.com/post/55424285511/aaliyah-quit-hatin

Lil' Kim ft. Aaliyah & The Notorious B.I.G.: Queen Bee

Released: November 12th 1996

Recorded: 1995 – 1996

Label: Undeas/Big Beat

Hey guys! :o) Here's a track which Aaliyah is featured on with 90's Hip-Hop Queen Lil' Kim and Hip-Hop legend Biggie Smalls. I discovered the track from the mixtape – The Aaliyah Duets Album which showcases some of Babygirl's best duets alongside other performing artists and groups. You can download the mixtape here via http://www.datpiff.com/Aaliyah-The-Aaliyah-Duets-Album-mixtape.10680.html.

The track itself is called Queen Bee in comparison to the uncensored version called Queen Bitch which obviously Babygirl is not featured on. Aaliyah isn't really singing much on this, however, when she sings the hook 'I'm the Queen' all I gotta say is yess! Bow down! lol! Aaliyah was the Queen in her own right, the way she sings it sounds so hauntingly beautiful it's captivating. Now again, you know all me, I like to know where all the samples come from. If we look at the very core roots of the sample, it actually originates from Roberta Flack's – Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye. If you listen to the song carefully at 2:50 you will hear the piano riff which has been sampled. You can check this out down below to compare and contrast. 

Now, I'm not done yet, because I have heard this same classic piano riff in so many other songs, that it's only fair I share it with you guys. When we talk about Lil' Kim, we all know how close she was with Biggie both on the mic with their lyrical content and off the scenes with their relation. Biggie in fact helped Lil' Kim on this lyrically, since she was learning the ropes of how a rapper should deliver, so below I have also uploaded the original Queen Bitch which was written by Biggie himself. Last but not least, we have Mary J. Blige ft. Lil' Kim's – I Can Love You. Again this song also samples the piano riff, and who can blame them, it's so catchy that it would make anyone want to listen to it. Anyhoo, for all you music lovers out there, sit back, listen and enjoy! :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)

Contact: The Aaliyah Archives

Hi everyone! Just a quick shout out for you guys. Anyone who would wish to contact me with any queries or feedback, please feel free to do so via theaaliyaharchives@gmail.com. I've put a lot of time into making this blog, so it's only fair that I get to hear from yourselves. If you're lucky, I might even feature some of your questions/thoughts on my blog. Again, thank you for all the daily views, it is much appreciated! :o)

Aaliyah: Danc'n ft. E.T. Selfish (Unreleased Track)

Released: 2010

Recorded: Unknown

Label: Blackground Records

Happy Saturday everyone! :o) To make your saturday even more special, here's another unreleased track by Babygirl called Danc'n featuring E.T. Selfish, and production by Digital Black from Playa. Now here's something which makes you wanna just jam all over the dance floor! I gotta say that when I first heard this, it was love at first listen. The hook that Aaliyah sings is so catchy that by the time you have listened to it, you'll keep hitting that replay button! Now that's not all I've got for you folks. To really understand about the whole process of the track, here's a little interview from Digital Black and E.T. Selfish themselves who talk about Danc'n in more depth which you can find below. Enjoy guys! :o)

Digital Black: “That’s the hook I wrote. That was a group signed to Keybeats and again, this is how Aaliyah was. If she messed with you, she messed with you. She didn’t really mess with anybody else out of the circle, so if you were part of the circle, she didn’t only want to see herself blow up. She was trying to do as much as she could for everyone in the camp. That’s how “I Don’t Think They Know” came about.”

E.T. Selfish: “When the family got back from Australia, everybody set up shop in LA to mix the Aaliyah album. We were in the studio one day (Digital Black, KeyBeats & Selfish). Black & E. Seats pulled up the track and told us to go to work on it. The song already had Aaliyah’s vocals on it from when Digital Black wrote the song in Australia. So of course when KeyBeats & Black offered it to us, we wanted to kill it. We wanted everybody to hear it and relate. We wanted to make you feel like you were in the club, on the dance floor, getting it in till they turn on the lights.”