Gifted. Exquisite. Unassuming. These three descriptors encapsulate the essence of R&B artist Aaliyah, who, as is frequently observed, ventured into acting as well. Securing a recording agreement at merely 12 years old, Aaliyah swiftly ascended to prominence as an R&B luminary. At the zenith of her renown, her existence was tragically curtailed by a catastrophic aviation disaster. Read more about the work and life of Brooklyn-born A. D. Haughton at brooklynski.info.
A. D. Haughton’s childhood
A. D. Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 16, 1979, to D. Haughton and M. Haughton. Her uncle was the music manager B. Hankerson, and her brother was the filmmaker R. Haughton. Aaliyah started studying singing shortly after she learned to speak. Her mother enrolled her in singing lessons at a very young age. She soon began performing at weddings, singing in the church choir and various other charity events. Her love for performing in front of an audience grew even more after she performed in a school play. Her parents, to their credit, supported her choice and encouraged her to perform and study vocals.
Aaliyah was a conscientious student and maintained a 4.0 grade point average in school, despite the increasing demands on her time as she built her career. The girl believed that getting a good education was important, and if her career as a singer and actress didn’t work out the way she wanted, she would open a school to teach drama or music history. By the way, while studying at school, Aaliyah was bullied and ridiculed because of her short stature. But she claimed that this did not bother her and only strengthened her desire to succeed.
Anyway, the young singer began her journey to stardom with an unsuccessful participation in the Star Search TV program at the age of 11. But she was not going to give up. Determined to become a star, she signed a contract with Jive Records at the age of 12 and in 1994 received widespread recognition.
Getting to know R. Kelly
Later that year, Aaliyah performed with R&B legend G. Knight, though it is known that Knight was the ex-wife of her uncle and manager B. Hankerson. Meanwhile, the performance took place at a five-night concert in Las Vegas. By the way, it was G. Knight who took Aaliyah with her to New York to audition for commercials and TV programs.
Subsequently, the young woman was acquainted with vocalist and music producer R. Kelly, who assumed the role of her guide and oversaw the creation of her inaugural album, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number. It was released when she turned 14. The song Back & Forth from this album topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks. The title track Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number reached No. 75 on the Hot 100. The album itself debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200, later peaking at No. 18 and selling more than 3 million copies in the US.
The album features the singles Back and Forth, At Your Best (You Are Love), Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number and The Thing I Like. Two million units were sold and went double platinum. In addition, the album was nominated for a Billboard Music Award (1994), an American Music Award (1995) and two Soul Train Music Awards (1995). The critics were also unanimous in their praise of the young singer’s work.
In 1996, Aaliyah entered into an agreement with Atlantic Records and unveiled her sophomore studio collection, One in a Million. Among its offerings, If Your Girl Only Knew ascended to the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ranking, holding its reign for a fortnight. The album includes the singles If Your Girl Only Knew, Got to Give It Up, One In a Million, 4 Page Letter, The One I Gave My Heart. The album reached #18 on the Billboard 200, selling over 3.7 million copies in the US and over 8 million copies worldwide. The album was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album.
In 2001, Aaliyah released her last album, Aaliyah. It featured the singles We Need a Resolution, More Than a Woman and Rock the Boat. Her last album also sold two million units and went double platinum.
A successful film debut
In addition to her music career, Aaliyah was also a movie star. She played in such films as Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned, which was released after her death in 2002. In her first movie, she starred with martial arts master Jet Li. The movie was a huge success at the box office, and her song Try Again from the movie reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The music video for this song won the Best Female Video and Best Movie Video awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. Queen of the Damned was based on the bestselling novel by A. Rice.
In continuation of the movie theme, it should be mentioned that the girl successfully passed several auditions and signed a contract to participate in two upcoming sequels to the sci-fi blockbuster and thriller The Matrix Reloaded starring K. Reeves and L. Fishburne.
Even more recognition came to the singer in 1997, when she recorded Journey to the Past, a song nominated for an Academy Award. She performed it as the soundtrack to the feature-length animated film Anastasia. Aaliyah also performed the song for the Oscars telecast in 1998. Her next soundtrack, Are You That Somebody? for the movie Dr. Dolittle starring E. Murphy, reached number one on the R&B charts and became a pop hit, earning the young singer her first Grammy nomination.
Despite the rapid growth in popularity of the singer and actress, despite her success both in music and in movies and despite her incredible career progress, it was at this time that several unpleasant scandals occurred that were related to the young artist’s personal life. The first scandal was the girl’s marriage. In 1994, she illegally married R. Kelly without her parents’ permission. The fact is that the marriage certificate stated that A. D. Haughton was already eighteen years old, although she was actually only fifteen at the time. The rapper and producer R. Kelly was twenty-seven.
Initially, Aaliyah denied the fact of the marriage, but later she admitted that she had lied about her age when getting married and decided to break off all relations with R. Kelly. The girl was also friends with singers M. Elliott and Timbaland. Aaliyah’s parents were very confused and angry about the marriage, so they ended it in February 1995.
Shooting the last clip
In August 2001, Aaliyah embarked on a respite following an intense promotional campaign for her third album, journeying to the Bahamas to film a visual production for the track Rock the Boat. As a result, the video was shot on the island of Abaco, directed by H. Williams, a famous music video director who was known for his special style and wit.
On the way home after filming a music video, Aaliyah died. Eight other members of her crew died in the plane crash. At the time of her death, the girl was 22 years old. Before her death, she was dating D. Dash, the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, and the couple was planning to get married. Despite her youth, she managed to leave a significant mark on the R&B and hip-hop scene of the 1990s. Her work influenced many famous artists, including Adele, Ciara, Beyoncé, C. Brown and Rihanna.