Aaliyah (album)

Aaliyah
by Aaliyah

General information

Artist

Aaliyah

Release Date

7 July 2001

Recorded

1998 - March 2001

Studio

Magic Mix (Los Angeles)
Music Grinder (Los Angeles)
Westlake (Los Angeles)
Manhattan Center (New York)
Soundtracks (New York)
Sony (New York)
Sing Sing (Melbourne)

Genre

R&B/Neo-soul/Hip-hop/Pop/Metal/dance-pop

Length

61:10

Label

Blackground
Virgin

Producer(s)

Bud'da/Eric Seats/J. Dub/Rapture/Timbaland

s chronology
Previous	Current
One in a Million	[[File:Template:Aaliyah Album Cover\|60px\|link=]] Aaliyah

Singles

1. "We Need a Resolution"
Released: April 13, 2001
2. "Rock the Boat"
Released: August 21, 2001
3. "More Than a Woman"
Released: September 4, 2001

Aaliyah is the classic third and final studio album by Aaliyah. It was released on July 7, 2001. Aaliyah spent more than three years recording the album, resulting in many of its hiatuses, which were associated with her burgeoning film career. She completed filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat" before being fatally injured in a return flight to the United States on August 25, 2001. After she died, the album's sales skyrocketed. It was propelled to number one on the Billboard 200. Since the album's initial reception, it has been hailed as one of the greatest R&B albums of its time.

In order to accommodate her burgeoning film career, Aaliyah postponed the album's recording from its 1998 start date. In 2000, she started recording again at Sing Sing Studios in Australia, where she spent the day filming her part for the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned and the night recording songs. Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Manhattan Centre and Sony Music Studios in New York, and other sites were used for further recording. The singer mostly collaborated with the in-house composers and producers of the record label, including Eric Seats, J. Dub, Rapture, Bud'da, and Timbaland, during her recording deal with Blackground.

Critics have characterised Aaliyah as a dance-pop, neo soul, R&B, and electronica album that also incorporates elements of Latin music, funk, hip hop, alternative rock, and electronica. The album's producers included distorted guitar, disjointed beats, synthesised melodies, and strangely altered vocal and song structures. Singer-songwriter Static Major, who was good friends with Aaliyah, wrote a lot of the songs. The songs that emerged address the intricacies of passionate love and many phases of a partnership. Aaliyah saw the album as a representation of her as a vocalist who has both grown as a young adult and matured.

When Aaliyah was released, it was well-received both critically and commercially, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200. However sales started to diminish. To boost album sales, Blackground and Virgin desired a high-charting follow-up to the album's modestly successful first single, "We Need a Resolution." Once "Rock the Boat" started to get airplay as an album cut, the labels decided to use it. Aaliyah recorded the song's music video in the Bahamas before passing away on August 25 in an airplane accident on her way back to the US. The album had a sharp rise in sales following her passing, which sent it to the top of the Billboard 200 and ultimately exceeded 13 million copies sold globally.

The album, which was released during the height of R&B's popularity, has since been recognised by critics as one of the best and most influential albums of the genre, influencing musicians like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and the Weeknd. The singer's estate, Blackground, and the album's creators engaged in years of internal and legal disputes before Aaliyah was first made available on music streaming services in 2021.

Background[]

In order to accommodate her burgeoning film career, Aaliyah postponed the album's recording from its 1998 start date. In 2000, she started recording again at Sing Sing Studios in Australia, where she spent the day filming her part for the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned and the night recording songs. Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Manhattan Centre and Sony Music Studios in New York, and other sites were used for further recording. The singer mostly collaborated with the in-house composers and producers of the record label, including Eric Seats, J. Dub, Rapture, Bud'da, and Timbaland, during her recording deal with Blackground.