Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Singer
Aaliyah, the sultry hip-hop singer, burst onto the music scene in a flurry of controversy in 1994. She was the latest in a long line of child prodigies to make a mark on the industry, a line that stretches back through Michael Jackson to Little Stevie Wonder and Etta James. The release of Aaliyah’s first record was surrounded by an element of soap opera. As it climbed the charts rumors circulated that Aaliyah—who was a mere 14 years old while she was making the record—had eloped with her producer, said to be at least ten years her senior. The publicity could not overshadow Aaliyah’s talent, however. Before she graduated from high school in 1997, she had two platinum albums and two number one singles to her credit, and two years of international touring under her belt.
Aaliyah’s second album, One in a Million, displayed an artistic maturity well beyond her years. The New York Amsterdam News wrote: “There is more to the singer than song and dance. Not only has she become ‘the highest, most exalted one,’ as the true Arabic interpretation of her name suggests, but she has matured into a hip confident performer whose talents and passions range from music and acting, to her commitment to breast cancer research, Alzheimer’s disease awareness and her dedication to stay in school until she has completed her education.”
Aaliyah Haughton was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. When she was five, her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, moved to Detroit with Aaliyah and her older brother Rashaad. She was surrounded by music from an early age. Her mother’s collection of soul, R&B, and popular records was an early and on-going influence. Aaliyah would sing along—with her mother’s full encouragement—to the music of Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers, Whitney Houston, Johnny Mathis and Barbra Streisand.
At the age of seven Aaliyah started trying out for school plays and singing whenever she could. “I’ve been singing all my life,” she told Vibe in 1994. “I sang in my church and school and my parents gave me vocal lessons.” She credits her parents for supporting her interest in music and appreciates the fact that they did not shunt her from one audition to another against her will. “I pushed them,” she recalled to Vibe’s Kris Ex. “I would talk to my mother every day. After school I’d go to her job and be, like, Ma, did anybody call me? Anybody call about signing me? I was into it.”
Her uncle, Barry Hankerson, began managing her when she was nine, and Aaliyah’s professional career was off and running. She auditioned for TV pilots without success, but continued her voice lessons. A turning point
For the Record…
Born Aaliyah Haughton in Brooklyn, NY; daughter of Michael and Diane (nee Hankerson) Haughton.
Released Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, 1994; released One In A Million, 1996.
Addresses: Home —Detroit, MI. Record Company —Blackground Enterprises, 15250 Ventura Blvd., Suite 705, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Manager— Michael and Diane Haughton, Raliah Management, P.O. Box 21847, Detroit, MI 48221.
came when she appeared on the show Star Search. “It was really, really cute,” she told Details, “I sang ‘My Funny Valentine,’ and I had on a white dress my grandmother made with a little bolero jacket, and special curls in my hair.” Although she did not win first place, she soon received the break of a lifetime when she performed for a week in Las Vegas with Gladys Knight, who, incidentally, is Hankerson’s ex-wife. Aaliyah got to sing a song half-way through the set, and at the finale she and Knight sang a duet together—“Believe in Yourself.”
Protégé or Wife?
When Barry Hankerson founded his own record label, Blackground Enterprises, he signed Aaliyah when she was 14 years old as the label’s first act. It was around that time that Hankerson introduced his niece to R. Kelly, a hip-hop musician who was managed by Hankerson’s Midwest Entertainment Group. Kelly was to play an important role in Aaliyah’s life for the next year or two. “I met Robert before he came out with Born in the 90s, Aaliyah told Vibe. “He came to my house and I sang for him, and from there we went into the studio.” Aaliyah became Kelly’s protégé. He took over creative control of what would be her first album, provocatively titled, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.
The title was provocative because of the sensual knowing with which Aaliyah sang. She played down the age issue while promoting the record. “That’s not something I really want to discuss,” she told Vibe. Part of the reason for avoiding the subject were the rumors that were circulating at the time, rumors that Aaliyah and Kelly had eloped. The idea that 24 year old Kelly and Aaliyah—at 14 still very much a minor—were married titillated the industry for months. Rolling Stone even claimed that the Cook County Clerk’s Office had a marriage license which proved that Robert Kelly and Aaliyah Haughton, listed on the license to be 18, had been married in Rosemont, Illinois. “I’m not married,” she told Vibe, “that’s all I really want to say about it.”
The marriage rumors and the subsequent publicity did not hurt the sales of the album. Age went platinum within a year. Its first single, “Back&Forth,” spent three weeks at number one in the R&B charts—coincidentallly knocked out R. Kelly’s “Your Body’s Callin.” The record also broke the Top Five on the Billboard charts. Aaliyah’s second single, “At Your Best (You Are Love)” reached number two on the R&B charts. The singer later recalled being very nervous before the release of “Back and Forth,” wondering if people would accept it. Her answer came when the song went gold.
The Girl Can’t Sit Still
Aaliyah followed her debut album with nearly a year of touring that took her across the United States and around the world, from Europe to Japan via South Africa. While on the road, Aaliyah maintained a 3.8 grade point average at the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts where she was a dance major. A tutor, under the supervision of Aaliyah’s mother who is an educator, traveled with the singer at all times.
After a lengthy tour, Aaliyah was anxious to start work on her next record. It had been such a long time since the release of Age, even Aaliyah was wondering if she was only a one-hit wonder. Could the young artist match the success of her first release? “I was a little anxious,” she admitted in an Atlantic press release. “You could even say I was a little afraid. I spoke with my family and they helped me realize that it wasn’t something I should worry about, that I shouldn’t over think the process.” Aaliyah’s family has been an important factor in her success. She records for a label owned by her uncle and cousin; her father and mother co-manage her; her brother is her creative consultant; and her cousin Jomo was executive producer on her second album.
For her second album, One in a Million, the singer chose not to use a single producer, perhaps a way of renouncing R. Kelly who didn’t work on the album at all. Eight different producers worked on the album. She also switched distributors, from Jive Records to R&B powerhouse Atlantic. The album was released in fall 1996, and by year’s end it was obvious that Aaliyah had scored another big hit. The first single, “If Your Girl Only Knew,” zoomed to number one; a year later the record went double platinum and surpassed her first album in sales.
Despite the worldly image created by her records and publicity machine, Aaliyah remains at some level unaffected by her success. Even after Age hit the charts she continued to attend high school in Detroit, like any other student—except of course for the world tours and the occasional freshman dogging her for an autograph. The singer, who graduated in June of 1997 and plans to attend college, continues to live at home with her parents. Despite her world tours and the success of One in a Million, Aaliyah often wears sunglasses (which have become a kind of trademark) to help overcome her shyness. That carried over to her recording work. “When I’m in the studio, I have to have the lights off—you can’t see me ‘cause I’m very shy,” she told Vibe. “I don’t mind seeing you in the control room, but you can’t see me.”
Despite her shyness, Aaliyah remains a very determined artist. When it comes to her music, she knows what she wants and works hard to get it. R&B artist Ginuwine, who appeared in the “One in a Million” video, told Seventeen “She’s sweet, patient and she’ll do a take over and over again until she gets it right.” Even at age 14 she had a strong work ethic. “I work every day,” she told Vibe, “Ev-er-y day.” She doesn’t want to get caught standing still, or get lumped into one style of music. In late 1997, she recorded “Journey to the Past” for the Anastasia soundtrack, a song that is Disney pop rather than R&B. She is interested in getting more involved in acting and dancing, and introduced choreography into her 1997 tour. “These days people are likely to know your music from your videos,” she told Newsday, so it’s nice to be able to include some elements from those in your songs. People really enjoy seeing dance steps or a prop from the video in the stage show.”
The future seems limitless for Aaliyah, who has the determination to make any of her dreams come true. She has dreams one wouldn’t normally expect from a teenager who is a famous singer. When she was 14 and her records were zooming up the charts, Aaliyah wasn’t talking about craving stardom and riches—she wanted to go to college and get a doctorate in music history. Three years later she told Newsday she was interested in doing something in indie rock. “I’d love to work with the members from Oasis or Soundgarden. I love their music too.” Vibe surmised: “Somebody’s got to be the one to fulfill our fantasies as we go into the 21 st century. Aaliyah may be just the one.”
Selected discography
Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, Blackground/Jive, 1994. One in a Million, Blackground/Atlantic, 1996.
(Contributor) Anastasia (soundtrack), 1997.
Sources
Billboard, May 14, 1994.
Essence, January 1997.
Indianapolis Recorder, July 8, 1995.
Newsday, September 12, 1997.
Seventeen, January 1997.
Vibe, September 1994; December 1996, January 1997.
—Gerald E. Brennan
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Aaliyah