The FADER Presents Its Annual Icon Issue: A Tribute To The Influential Aaliyah, With Contributions From Producers, Family, Friends & Peers, Plus The Voices Of The FADER Generation Of Artists. Check out the press release:
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Detroit, Aaliyah Dana Haughton entered the music scene with her first album, “Age Aint Nothing but a Number” at the age of 15. From that point forward, Aaliyah began to revolutionize the popscape with a quick and effortless swoop, embodying what the editors of The FADER love right now; her influence in 2008 an omnipresent force from the futuristic megahits dominating the airwaves to the demure pop sensibilities fluttering throughout the underground.
Before Aaliyah’s life was cut short in 2001, the Grammy-nominated artist sold millions of records worldwide—collaborating with producers and artists including Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Although Aaliyah was only in the spotlight for a short time, she had a major impact on these artists personally, and many others professionally including Mark Ronson, Ciara, Method Man, Beth Ditto, and Kid Sister. These artists and more were all interviewed, offering their take on how Aaliyah’s impact has transcended over the years, long after her death.
“It only took Aaliyah a few albums to make an indelible mark on the world of pop music, but today her influence can be felt across numerous genres,” said Chris Richards, Executive Editor of The FADER. “This issue not only tracks that influence, but also offers a more personal glimpse into the life of a true pop visionary.”
Missy Elliott
“We was gonna save the world. We was gonna change music every chance we got. We was gonna always be family. Forever.”
Mark Ronson
“If it wasn’t for Aaliyah being the face and voice of [Missy Elliott and Timbaland’s] sound they might have never got to where they did. They were presenting their sort of brilliant but challenging breakthrough music through this beautiful young girl who could sing it perfectly.”
Kidada Jones
“I think about her all the time…Anytime she’s brought up or her music comes on the radio, it’s sweet, but it definitely sounds like she found a niche before it was here. If you listen to her music it’s so relevant today, but we had it so long ago.”
Damon Dash
“She was already a fashion icon, she was getting into movies, she had already planted that seed. If she was alive today she would be so relevant. I see little bits of her everywhere I look, in a lot of artists.”
All love goes out to Aaliyah’s family and close friends. Aaliyah was a great icon and definantely someone to look up to, I appreciated her dedication and her legacy lives on. R.I.P and much love Aaliyah
For those of you who don’t agree she deserves to be honored in this way, read the magazine article. They have a bunch of things people did not know about Aaliyah and how highly everyone that came into contact with her spoke of her. There were so many ways Aaliyah left her mark and they went unseen until she died. I hate that people always bring up the fact that she’s dead as a reason to praise her. No one is holding a gun to anyone’s head to make us “praise” Aaliyah. I know when you think of an ICON you think of someone who has been around for a while. But, what would we consider an ICON TODA? An Icon in CONTEMPORARY music and media? Aaliyah would definitely qualify as a more recent Icon and her accomplishments can not go unnoticed. The article states the struggles she went thru to get her music noticed and played on the radio stations. How many of you were aware that they refused to play “One In A Million” on the radios because the sound was “weird and not radio friendly”? Aaliyah didn’t care about all the success so why should you? It was HER career and she did it the way she wanted to in each and every way and she was happy with all that she had so you should be happy for her. If Aaliyah wanted to be on TV all the time and starin down our mouths she would have. Instead, she took a different approach to stardom. How many artists can you say were as influential as Aaliyah with only completeing 3 albums and taking massive breaks in between. Aaliyah didn’t drop album after album. She gave herself room to grow so she could come back and hit us in another direction. I don’t care what any of you say, Aaliyah deserves all this! Apparently this magazine thinks so too and they published this article so that’s all that matters. Give her props…she was a very talented and young minority and she made it far before her death. Alot of you mention her last album “failing” yet it made its debut at #2 on the charts and let’s say her album did fail and fade away after it’s debut…she would have been alive to recompensate for that lost and would have came back even better. I have no doubt that if she was around we would have seen even more and her talent was so tremendous she had to release it in small doses. The industry wasn’t ready for all she had planned…we now see how relevant her music is today because so many artists (whose names you bring up constantly) are working with Timbaland just to get that sound that she was all over YEARS AGO!
@justin
Cudnt have said it betta myself…..
her last album was definitely her best to me…..
even all the critics thought so…..