FLOWERS/AALIYAH

SHOW DISCIPLINE

FLOWERS/AALIYAH

Last month it was the 25th Anniversary of a legendary R&B album One in a Million. The album was released on August 13th, 1996 amongst the golden era of hiphop. Aaliyah was a trailblazer for R&B artists to come after her, men and women. The album featured songs like 4-page letter, If Your Girl Only Knew, and of course One in A Million.

The album put Aaliyah in a different zone as far as the music industry goes. She was talking about deeper topics in relationships. I think it’s more important to note that this album really gave her a signature style. Aaliyah, with help from Missy Elliott and Timbaland, created a sound on that project that would inspire the next generation of artists.

The production on the album, handled mostly by Timbaland was a whole new sound for R&B. The studdering drums are still being duplicated on songs today. The song that Missy was writing for Aaliyah was very transparent and appealed to a lot of young women in the mid-’90s. Aaliyah’s soft vocals were perfect for executing the recording of these songs. Aaliyah represented young women of her generation from music to style.

One in a Million was recently put on streaming platforms. For fans of her I know it was exciting and for people who were new to the album, they got a chance to hear a pioneer of music. Unfortunately with her passing we never saw her true potential. But we do see the influence she had and still has on artists like Drake, Tinashe, Chris Brown and so many more. Rihanna reportedly said that Are you that somebody was one of her favorite videos.

Outside of music alone Aaliyah came from the era where you had to have dance choreography in your video. The way she dressed in the baggy jeans and the whole tomboy vibe is still being used now.

Her self-titled and final album was recently put on all streaming platforms I expect it to be on Billboard just like One in a Million. Aaliyah really created the blueprint for modern-day R&B artists like Jhene Aiko, Summer Walker and SZA. Now she’s getting some more credit for doing that.