A Portrait Of The Highest Most Exalted One

This portrait is giving me so much Queen of the Damned/Bloody Mary tease! But it so well represents what Aaliyah was; elegant, beautiful, hypnotic and mysteriously dark.

4 Page Letter

Some say that this video is an illuminati retelling of the ancient Kemet/Egyptian story of Rah

Others say it's simply a video dreamed up by Aaliyah's brother, Rashad.

What I do know is that last week when I watched this video with my GGF Chaseology I was mesmerized and I have yet to stop watching.

*Side Lipton: Apparently those are Aaliyah's parents sitting around the motorcycles at the 1:51 mark*

DMX + Aaliyah = Hip-Hop & R&B Perfection

Some may not realize it but DMX and Aaliyah's "Back In One Piece" was one of the finest blends of Hip-Hop and R&B ever. Watching them on stage and in video you see the comfort and ease with which they perform together. They compliment each other both in music and in persona. His raw street gruff with her sweet yet street style melds together perfectly in this urban love tale of both the heart and the hood.

They were Bonnie & Clyde or maybe Beauty & The Beast...with a twist. Their love was rough and funky and that's what makes me come back to this song time and time again.

Aaliyah Haughton

To put it simply, I love Aaliyah. To me she was the definition of progressive R&B cool. She was the girl who could roll with the boys and sag her Tommy jeans with the hardest of 'em but still be as sweet and alluring as the coolest downtown breeze. She didn't have the biggest voice...or the biggest breasts, she didn't write or produce and for some she shied away from the limelight a little too much. But what she did have (a "street but sweet" soprano, aslick and seductive dance style, beauty for days and an ever present air of dark mystery), she worked.

I think it was that dark air of mystery and affinity for atypical sounds/styles that hooked me about her. I remember in her last article for Vibe magazine she explained that, at times, she favored seclusion and mystery, like a vampire. As she put it, "I have black out shades in my apartment. I push a button, it's totally dark. I think I'm a bit of a vampire in real life, and there are times when I just want to be by myself. I wanna be alone."

That strange need for escape and reflection is probably what fueled her need to defy the typical sound of R&B and create genre bending music for her last 2 albums, One In A Million and her greatest work, Aaliyah (Both classics in their own right). She and her creative team (Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Bud'da, Static, Keybeats and many more) revolutionized the sound of R&B and pushed it into a futuristic, hip-hop, electronica sound that still resonates throughout today's era of music (Just look at artists like Ciara, Brandy, The Dream, Keri Hilson, etc.)

Aaliyah was a pioneer who's understated influence continually inspires me. She's one of my faves and I miss the possibility of hearing what her music could have become. But I LOVE the funky electric baby girl blues that she left behind...Rest in Peace, Baby Girl.

I've told you my story but to see some of Aaliyah's close friends tell you their stories of their time with Aaliyah check out this FREE download of FADER magazine's tribute issue to Aaliyah

FADER Magazine #54