August 22, 2024 • 30 mins
When your name means “The highest, most exalted one, the best” you know you’re destined for great things. And Aaliyah definitely achieved great things in her life. An icon of ‘90s R&B, Aaliyah immediately became one of the genre's biggest artists at the young age of 14, eventually redefining the role of what an artist in that genre could be, breaking through into the hip-hop and pop charts.
Since her untimely death in 2001, the proclaimed “Princess of R&B” has left behind a legacy in which, to this day, she continues to be celebrated for her talent as both a recording artist and a motion picture star, while being credited for introducing a sound that is widely considered the blueprint for R&B today.
This is the true story of Aaliyah's 'Try Again' with newly unearthed audio from Aaliyah herself!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Encore. The stories behind the songs. Here's Ihe
Radio's Miles Galloway.
It's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you. Well, actually,
it's only been a week. I'm Miles Galloway. And this
is the story of Aliyah's try again
(00:21):
when your name means the highest most exalted one, the best,
you know, you're destined for great things. And Aliyah definitely
achieved great things in her life, an icon of nineties
R and B. Aliyah immediately became one of the genre's
biggest artists at the young age of 14. Eventually redefining
the role of what an artist in that genre could
(00:43):
be breaking through into the hip hop and pop.
Since her untimely death in 2001, the proclaimed princess of
R and B has left behind a legacy in which
to this day, she continues to be celebrated for her
talent as both a recording artist and a motion picture
star while being credited for introducing a sound that is
widely considered the blueprint for R and B today. Am
(01:05):
I saying your name? Right? I am right. I say
Aah
a like Muhammad Ali, I got it. How are you? Aliyah?
Dana Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16th,
1979 to parents Diane and Michael Horton. The Holden family
(01:25):
relocated to Detroit, Michigan where Michael got a warehouse job
working for his brother-in-law Barry Hankerson, a music industry, veteran
and entertainment lawyer. Once married
Motown legend, Gladys Knight Diane was a professional singer who
stayed at home to raise Aliyah and her older brother.
By two years, Rashard Aliyah inherited her mother's passion for
singing and began taking singing lessons that helped her perform
(01:48):
at weddings, churches and charity events. From a very young age.
This prepared her for her first role while attending Gay
Sioux Catholic elementary school. Aliyah won the lead in the
school's production of Annie
Aliyah then began attending auditions for commercials and television shows
including hit ABC sitcom, Family Matters. Best known for giving
us the biggest nerd ever, Steve Urkel Aliyah tried out
(02:12):
for the role of Judy, the youngest child in the
Winslow family, but lost out to actress Valerie Jones. Then
at the age of 10, she appeared on Star Search,
a weekly television talent show hosted by Tonight show, Star
Ed mcmahon
in the eighties and nineties. Everyone from Beyonce and Britney
Spears to Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake tried to impress
the judges on Star Search over the show's run. Here's
(02:34):
a clip of 10 year old Aah being introduced by
Ed mcmahon. Now,
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Aah, you're a great singer. What else do you do?
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Well, of course, I love to sing and I love
to dance and act and
Speaker 2 (02:46):
I
Speaker 1 (02:46):
love
Speaker 2 (02:46):
swimming.
Swimming. Terrific. All around girl. All right. Let's find out
what the judges have to
say.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Unfortunately, Aah wasn't successful in singing the standard classic. My
funny Valentine. But her opponent, a girl named Katrina Abrams
will always have those bragging rights, I guess. Still years
later mcmahon who wasn't, one of the judges would tell
Vibe Magazine that he saw something special in Aaliyah. There's
a thing that you
see when somebody walks out on the stage, I call
(03:13):
it the fire. They got that inner fire which has
nothing to do with the schooling, nothing to do with
the teacher, nothing to do with the parents. There's a
desire in that person to please the audience, you see
enough of it to recognize it. And that's what I
saw with Aliyah while losing on national television was heartbreaking
for young aiyah. It didn't stop her from chasing her dream.
Her uncle Barry Hankerson was there to help
(03:34):
out taking her to Las Vegas to perform with her
aunt Gladys. Knight. Aliyah performed two songs nightly over five
days with Knight who would invite her out on stage
to sing one song in the middle of the concert
and close the night with a duet together for believe
in yourself. I would stand in the middle of the
stage sing and just walk off. Ay would tell the telegraph.
Gladys said to me, you can't do that you have
(03:55):
to work the audience make them feel what you feel.
Years later, Knight would recall those moments with Aalyah to
Hello magazine saying from an early age, I knew she
had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift. When she first performed
with me in Las Vegas. She was still quite young,
but she already had it that spark the world would
later see and fall in love with.
(04:15):
It was around this time that Aliyah began auditioning for
record labels in hopes of scoring a record deal with
guidance from her mother, Aalyah dropped her last name and
began marketing herself simply as Aalyah. Her uncle Barry took
her to Vanguard Studios in Detroit to record some demos.
He could shop around to labels. He caught some ears
of reps at both Warner Music and MC A records,
but neither label was willing to sign an artist that
(04:37):
was only 12 years old at the time, a deal
though was waiting for them. One that would end up
being both a blessing and a curse.
At the same time, he was trying to launch Aliyah's
career as a recording artist. Barry Hankerson was also managing
an up and coming R and B artist named Robert Kelly,
better known as R. Kelly. Kelly had been a member
(04:57):
of Chicago new swing group public announcement, but he left
the group to pursue a solo career after just one album.
Thanks to Kelly's deal with Jive Records.
Ferson repeatedly pitched Aliyah's music to the label as early
as the age of 11, while the head of the label,
Clive colder heard the potential in her voice. He felt
Aliyah was too young and still needed to develop as
an artist. And so Aaliyah began studying drama at the
(05:20):
newly opened Detroit High School for fine and performing arts
where she would later graduate with a 4.0 GPA.
At the age of 14. Aliyah finally got her deal
with Jive Records, which agreed to distribute her music through
Hankerson s own label, Black Ground Records. Years later then
Jive A and R rep, Jeff Sledge would describe what
made Aliyah so special from a young age.
(05:41):
She had her own voice. It didn't fall off because
she didn't remind you of anybody. It was her knowing
what she wanted to do and how she wanted to look,
even as a young child, even as a young kid,
you could tell that she had that something. She was
a great addition to the label because we didn't have
a young girl like that, rapping or singing
a girl that was straight up R and B like that.
We didn't have anybody. It was a hole that she
(06:02):
filled once she was signed, Hankerson brought in R. Kelly
to begin working with Aaliyah on her music following the
success of his solo debut album, 12 Play. She talked
to much music's master T about working with R. Kelly
and how it all happened.
How did you hook up with R Kelly? Because I mean, he's,
is he like, he's obviously some, I guess, a mentor
for you. I guess he is. He's my best friend. Really.
(06:23):
We've been known each other for around three years and
I met him before he came out with born into
the nineties through my manager, which is also his manager.
That's how we met. And I sang for him when
I first met him. And um a couple of months later,
we went to a studio and started working,
you make it sound so simple. But I mean, it's,
I mean, I mean, he's my manager is my uncle. So,
you know, he's been in the business for a while.
(06:44):
So having him, you know, helped a lot and getting
a lot of things done because he had a lot
of connections for some reason, it made sense to everyone
involved that a 27 year old man could write from
the perspective of a then 14 year old girl. But
the media had its concerns. Aliyah defended the weirdness of
the situation to the Los Angeles Times saying
he just spent time with me trying to see how
(07:06):
I thought about things and what people my age think
it may seem funny for him to do an album
like this, but he has ideas about different things that
he can't use on his albums. Not only was Kelly,
the sole songwriter and producer for Aliyah's debut album, but
he also took on the role of mentor for the
burgeoning singer. The two worked closely at the Chicago recording
company studio with Aliyah flying back and forth between Chicago
(07:29):
and Detroit,
the recording sessions took about nine months before they were
forced to pause so she could still attend school. Kelly
and Aaliyah were spending a lot of time together outside
of the studio too. Going to bowling alleys, cinemas and
arcades to help him better understand how to write lyrics
for her. We vibed off one another and that's how
the songs was built. She told wax poetics, he would
vibe with me on what the lyrics should be. He'd
(07:52):
tell me what to sing and I'd sing it. That's
how the whole album was done.
We put in a lot of hours as far as
the music we'd be in there all night, making sure
it was perfect. There were times when I was tired
but I knew I had to push on if I
wanted to come off. Kelly took full control of every
facet of the album to point of drive executives claiming
it was essentially another R. Kelly album just with a
(08:13):
little girl singing. He even named the album Age Ain't
Nothing but a number which in the following years would
be the source of much speculation and controversy.
But Aliyah knew what kind of artist she wanted to
be and described her sound to much music. I mean,
how would you describe the record? Is it kind of
like a street sounding, uh kind of record? Yeah, like
my image is really, it's like a gangster type of flair.
(08:34):
The music,
it really isn't like hardcore or anything really. Everybody can
relate to it. I feel everybody of all ages. So
it's got a street flair but it's not, you know,
hardcore gangster and preceded by Aliyah's first single back and forth.
AJ nothing but a number was released on May 24th, 1994.
The album was well received by critics who applauded its
(08:56):
ability to combine R and B
hip hop pop and New Jack Swing while it would
only ever reach number 18 on the Billboard 200. The
album would eventually go on to sell 6 million copies worldwide.
Aliyah was building a following. However, based on her style,
young girls were all of a sudden adopting Aliyah's tomboyish
look wearing tos, as we say here in Canada or beanies,
(09:17):
as they say in other parts of the world with
their hair hanging
down sunglasses, Doc Martins boxers and big baggy jeans. Speaking
to master T. Aliyah described what it was like being
a young star who had to balance her music with
her school work. It's hard, it's really hard to enter
a care in school. But um I feel education is
number one. So my parents helped me out and the
school has really been cooper giving me my work in
(09:40):
it can you say that again one more time?
The education, the education education is number one. Thank you
very much. Number one. And um you know, I work hard.
It's hard though because I want to be very good
in this career and I rehearse a lot. But you know,
I have time for school work. I make time
while Aliyah's Star power was beginning to take off. So
(10:00):
were rumors that she and R. Kelly had a secret
romance on the side. From the sentimental dedication on the
back of the album that read written and produced by R. Kelly,
especially for Aiyah to the overly sexual lyrics written by
the man who popularized the term bump and grind age.
Ain't nothing but a number became fodder for the gossip columns.
It all came to a head in January 1995 when
(10:22):
Vibe published an expose claiming 15 year old Aliyah was
secretly married to 28 year old R. Kelly
included in the article was a photo of a marriage
certificate confirming the nuptials happened at the Sheraton Gateway Suites
in Rosemont, Illinois back on August 31st, 1994. Most interesting
of all is that it listed Aaliyah's age as 18
(10:44):
years old, which made her appear as an adult even
more shocking than that. Some media outlets reported that Aaliyah
was also pregnant with Kelly's child. All of a sudden,
Aliyah's brief blossoming career was about to be overshadowed by
one bombshell of a scandal
with the media focused heavily on the relationship between Aaliyah
and R. Kelly. Both parties denied the two had exchanged
(11:06):
vows in February 1995. At the demand of her family.
Aiyah reportedly filed to have the marriage certificate annulled in
the city of Detroit. She was also instructed to immediately
cut ties both personally and professionally with Kelly. Two years later,
Aah would also file a petition in the State of
Illinois
to have the invalidated marriage certificate wiped from her record,
(11:28):
which was granted by a judge who sealed the documents.
Elia would avoid discussing Kelly moving forward when she was
asked about the Chicago Sun Times about her alleged marriage
to him. She said, I don't really comment on that
because I know that's not true. When people ask me,
I tell them, hey, don't believe all that mess. We're
close and people took it the wrong way, but Kelly's
(11:49):
presence would linger for years to come
in 2019 while Kelly was on trial for racketeering, which
included charges of kidnapping, forced labor and sex trafficking. His
former tour manager, Demetrius Smith would testify in court that
he obtained an official state ID for Aaliyah that did
not reveal her date of birth after she believed she
(12:09):
was pregnant. He also worked with Kelly's inner circle to
help Kelly get a marriage license so he could marry
Aaliyah to quote,
protect himself and to protect Aliyah. That same year, a
two part docuseries on lifetime called Surviving R. Kelly revealed
that Aliyah's family had allegedly signed a non disclosure agreement
with R. Kelly stating that they wouldn't press charges against
(12:31):
him for his illegal marriage to their daughter if he
promised to sell them the rights to his first three albums.
Aaliyah was looking to move on with her life and
her career though. But that was easier said than done
despite selling millions of copies of her debut album, Aah
was stigmatized by the music industry for her involvement in
the scandal. At the same time, she was struggling to
find herself as an artist. After the ordeal with R. Kelly,
(12:53):
she would tell wax poetics. I faced the adversity. I
could have broken down. I could have gone and hid
in the closet and said, I'm not gonna do this anymore,
but I love singing and I wasn't gonna let that
mess stop me. I got a lot of support from
my fans that in
fired me to put that behind me, be a stronger person.
Although her uncle Barry Hankerson continued to work with R. Kelly.
(13:15):
Aliyah was released from her deal with Jive Records which
allowed her to try and start over with a clean
slate still with Hankerson S Black Ground Records. Aiyah joined
Atlantic Records and began to rebrand herself with a new
label and a new sound. She also wanted an opportunity
to contribute to the songwriting. She would tell much music's
Tracy Melcher.
Yeah, definitely. I'm gonna work with some new producers, get
(13:37):
a new feel new vibe on the next album and
me and my brother write a lot together. So hopefully
we can get a song or two on the next album,
you know, try out our talents. But I think I'm
gonna have more creative control on this album free of R.
Kelly's control over her music. Atlantic wanted to grow Aliyah's
sound by setting her up with different collaborators, but also
allow her to cori and make executive decisions herself. I
(14:00):
wanted to maintain my smooth
street musical image but wanted to be funky and hot
yet sophisticated. She told Billboard established names like Jermaine Dupree,
Dark Child and Darryl Simmons signed on to work with Aliyah,
but she also wanted to work with unknown producers who
could help her to find a sound all to herself.
It was then that Atlantic's Vice president of A and R.
(14:21):
Craig Coleman suggested working with up and comer producer slash songwriters,
Tim Mosley, better known as Timberland
and Missy Elliot who had sent in a demo that
impressed him. Coleman would recall his meeting with Timberland to vibe.
He started playing me beats and it was a really
obvious meeting of this doesn't sound like anything that's out
there and really had its own super exciting and electric
(14:43):
just dynamic properties. I called up Aliyah and I said
you need to meet this guy. His name's Timberland and
he's new. I think this could be your muse to
really create something special. We put Missy and Timberland and
Aaliyah together and everybody really hit it off famously. The
chemistry was incredible and they just started creating and creating
and it really worked.
The two met up with the 16 year old Aaliyah
(15:04):
in Detroit as she was finishing her studies at Detroit
High School for the fine and performing arts. Both Timberland
and Missy weren't sure what Aliyah would think of the
sound they'd been working on. Missy would tell Billboard, I
was scared, I don't know if Tim was scared when
we first played it because it was a different sound.
It was a different way to attack records because people
were really singing then that world of rap singing didn't
(15:26):
really exist. However, Aliyah liked how the duo were pushing
the envelope and coming up with a fresh and futuristic
sound that no one had heard before with Timberland's skittering
production and Missy Elliott's staccato phrasing of the lyrics. Aliyah
felt their cutting edge style was exactly what she was
hoping for. Speaking with wax poetics. Aliyah said before we
(15:46):
got together, I talked to them on the phone and
told them what I wanted. I said, you guys know
I have a street image but there's a sexiness to
it and I want my songs to compliment that. I
told them that before I even met them once. I
said that I didn't have to say anything else. Everything
they brought me was the Bomb
Timberland. And Missy Elliott would end up Cori and producing
the majority of Aliyah's sophomore album, which she called One
(16:08):
In a Million. The album begins with Missy declaring, you've
just now entered into the next level. The new world
of funk which set the tone for an album. People
would credit for changing the face of R and B.
Moving forward.
One in a million was released on August 13th, 1996.
2 years after Aliyah's debut, more than anything, it proved
(16:29):
that Aaliyah was willing to take the risks necessary to
become the artist. She saw herself as the album was
both a critical and commercial success with lead single. If
your girl only knew topping Billboard's Us Hot R and
B hip hop songs and peaking at number 11 on
the Hot 100
and it didn't just stop at the music. Once again,
Aliyah reinvented her image becoming the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger
(16:51):
sporting the red, white and blue signature colors often in
her public appearances. She also introduced an instantly iconic look
by wearing her hair down, swooped across half her face
to cover one eye. Rumors spread
that she wore the hairstyle and sunglasses because she was
blind in one eye. However, the hairstyle was simply paying
tribute to her mom's favorite actress Veronica Lake. She would
(17:12):
talk to much music's Nam Kana about the importance of
her style. Well, you know, everything goes hand in hand,
you know, image is important. That's how people identify with you. So,
um I'm always aware of what I wear, you know, or,
or um you know, what, whatever I'm doing in a
video conceptually and, and fashion wise, it's very important to me. So,
(17:32):
um
it's, it's, it's something that um that I think about
to keep
myself real and like I said, to keep myself very
different and my stylist knows me better than anybody. So,
you know, he knows what I'm like, what I'm gonna
like what I'm not gonna like. But you know, it's
not everything but it is an important aspect of my.
In 1997 Aah would surprise the music world by recording
(17:53):
a pop version of Journey to the Past for the
soundtrack to the Fox animated film, Anastasia.
The song was markedly different from her R and B sound,
but it received a nomination at the 70th Academy Awards
for best original song losing out to Celine Dion's. My
heart will go on from Titanic.
In fact, Aliyah's next few songs were all recorded for
(18:14):
the big screen. And her next release would become one
of her biggest hits to date recorded for the Doctor
Dolittle soundtrack. Are you that somebody found Timberland in a
giant sandbox playing around with all sorts of toys and
tricks from the iconic sample of a baby cooing to
the dizzying beats that were inspired by Willy Wonka and
the Chocolate Factory's Oompa Loompa song, Aliyah's Breathy vocals are
almost eclipsed by everything going on.
(18:36):
But argue that somebody was a crossover hit for Aliyah
getting airplay all over top 40 radio topping Billboard's Us
R and B hip hop airplay chart and earning her
her first grammy nomination for best female R and B
vocal performance. She would follow that up with Idel Wanna
from the Ice Cube starring comedy next Friday, which went
all in on showcasing her R and B roots. The
(18:57):
song would also make an appearance on the soundtrack to
Romeo Must Die. A new action flick based on Shakespeare's
Roman
and Juliet starring Chinese martial arts superstar Jet Lee. Aliyah
had an even bigger role with this film and its soundtrack.
Not only did she contribute four songs to the film,
including the muscular come back in one piece with DMX.
She also scored her first acting gig opposite Jet Lee
(19:19):
that required her to even learn some fighting moves. Speaking
to the associated press. Aliyah explained that the role of
Trish o'dea appealed to her because she felt that there
were parallels to her life. I wanted this role
because I thought we were similar in a lot of ways.
She's a tough girl, she's independent um but she loves
her family and that's what motivates her and, and, and
um that's where her anger comes from because she doesn't,
(19:40):
she doesn't approve of the lifestyle, but she's, she's a
no nonsense girl. Romeo must die was a surprise hit
at the box office, but even bigger was the single
released from the soundtrack. The track was called Try again
and found Aliyah teaming up with friends Timberland and Static
major to create something unlike
anyone had heard before. Blending the genres of pop R
(20:00):
and B trip hop techno and hip hop Timberland brought
a sample from Eric B and Rakim. Si know you
got so to use for the intro along with the
squelching synths, synthetic horns and strings and his own fake
record scratching noises. He also came up with a dope
beat to step to but it was purely by accident
and he almost lost it after making it. He would
tell the I AM Athlete podcast wrote that record like
(20:23):
um
ain't nothing really come to mind, you know, I was
in my zone. I was in my bag. It was
like another hit for me. And, and then when I
found that baseline, it was like I had, I was
playing with this, this keyboard and it was a mistake
and the engine, my engineer, Jimmy Douglas caught it. I said, Jimmy,
did you, did you catch that little rhythm? He said,
I sure did. And so he caught it, played it
(20:44):
back and I just put the beat on it. I said,
oh chop it right there and then I was like,
he chopped it right there
and it came in there. So me and Static always
wrote because Static wrote. So she wrote a lot of
genuine records. He wrote Pony. So Static um Static wrote
the record and the song was like the first, so
the first version was you could be a fireman, a counselor,
a lawyer too. So it was too like preachy. And
(21:07):
then Barry was like, yo, you gotta make it more fun.
So we just changed up the lyrics. He sta he
had the hook
and we knew it was dope Once we like changed
last stat, like, oh, we could change the hook. So
we didn't have to change the hook. The stat just
changed the, the, the, the verse and uh
it was just, we know it was, we know we
(21:27):
knew what it was, you know, but when Jay Z
came in the studio and he was like, oh, that's
what I was like, oh yeah, we got one. But
for us it was more like, you know, we know,
we know it, we know it's good for us. We don't,
we didn't know it was a hit. We just know
that it was good for what we was doing. Yeah,
I know it was dope because the sound was dope. I,
(21:48):
it was doing a page and people weren't doing a
pe back then.
So I was doing this kind of rhythm that like
mhm I said, did you catch that? Because I had
missed it. But thank God, my engineer caught it because
it wouldn't, we would not hear that song. Today
with Timberland cooking up the beat. Aliyah sings about a
relationship where she tries to convince her lover not to
(22:10):
give up on her, which she described on set while
making the video relationship about a guy approaching me. And
I'm I'm saying basically, if I don't say yes, up front,
will you leave me alone or will you try again?
If first you don't succeed? Just give it one more chance.
It's about perseverance is, yeah. And if I'm worth it,
(22:30):
just try again. You know, Jet Lee makes an appearance
in the video doing his martial arts moves in a
room full of mirrors where Aliyah and her dancers work
through the choreographed moves. It was directed by Wayne Achar
who previously worked on videos with Metallica Ozzy Osborne and yes,
Ricky Martin. The concept was a combination of the futuristic
vibes of the song mixed with recreated scenes from the
(22:52):
movie along with clips of some actual scenes. But the
idea for the very cool looking room of mirrors came
from Aaliyah who wanted to recreate that awesome memorable scene
from Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon
released on March 21st 2000. The same week as Romeo
Must Die. Try again was an immediate smash hit. The
song found a home across multiple genres, pop, hip hop,
(23:14):
R and B and dance, but it achieved something. Neither
Aaliyah nor Timberland had ever done before. It reached number
one on the Billboard Hot 100. While it would be
nominated at the Grammy Awards for best
female R and B vocal performance. The video won two
Moon Men at the MTV video music awards for best
female video and best video from a film. Try again
(23:35):
was the crossover breakthrough. Aliyah had been waiting for the
song's success broke her out of the R and B
and hip hop bubble and established her as a bona
fide pop star while also bringing electronic music to the
forefront of R and B. Almost immediate
after that, Aliyah jumped right back into the movies. She
was cast as the title character in a film adaptation
of Anne Rice's novel, Queen of the Damned. The sequel
(23:56):
to interview with the Vampire in it. She played Akasha,
the mother of all vampires who dated back to ancient Egypt.
She explained what attracted her to the role in an
interview with much music's Nan Kanoka. I love the fact
that she was totally in control. She's this powerful being
who is a bit me, you know, I kind of
want to explore those sides of myself and,
(24:17):
and, and, and uh bring that character to life. I
took a month here in New York to get with
an accent coach to
figure out what kind of accent I want to give
her being that she's Egyptian. So we came up with
a hybrid of a few different things. Um that was
my acting coaches. And when I went to Australia, we
did a month of rehearsals, more acting lessons and even
working with dance coaches to figure out how vampires move
(24:39):
and a lot of different things to just bring the characters,
you know, to life. But I really had a lot
of fun with her, you know, being that manipulative but
yet very sensual creature
while shooting the movie. Aalyah also spent time in the
recording studio filming her scenes by day on location in
Australia and working on her next album at night. In total,
the album was recorded in different studios throughout Melbourne, New
(25:01):
York and L A taking nearly three years to finish
sessions finally wrapped up in March 2001 more than two
years after it was originally expected to be released. I'm
glad that I took a break, you know, um to
think about how I wanted to approach the third album
to put the time that I wanted to put into it,
to make sure that it was the best that it
could be for my fans. I feel they deserve the best.
(25:23):
So I wanted to uh
give my all and, and, and I'm glad it is
coming out at this point, you know, because I'm older now,
the the album has a very mature feel to it yet.
It's something that still young people can get into people,
my age, people older. So I feel it has something
for everybody and um
I'm just happy with, with the outcome, you know, it's,
(25:45):
it's exactly what I wanted while Timberland would only produce
two of the album's tracks, including I Care For You,
written by Missy Elliott. The album simply titled Aliyah was
a moment for Aliyah to demonstrate she was no longer
a kid. She was now a woman. This was demonstrated
by more mature productions like I Care for you more
than a woman and it's whatever the influence of which
you can hear on so many contemporary R and B
(26:07):
pop artists.
Earlier, the album was finally released on July 7th 2001.
Preceded by the single. We need a resolution as well
as try again, which was added as a bonus track.
It debuted at number two on the billboard 200 chart
and would reach number one shortly after after a five
year wait, Aaliyah was on top of the world with
the success of her third album. But then tragedy struck
(26:30):
after wrapping a video shoot for the album's second single,
Rock The Boat
with Fame. Director Hype Williams. Aliyah boarded a flight home
to Florida one day earlier than scheduled. The twin engine
plane was smaller than expected and overloaded, carrying more weight
than it should have shortly after takeoff. The plane crashed
just 200 m from the runway eight passengers including Aiyah,
(26:53):
her hairstylist, security guard, makeup artist and two black ground
records employees died instantly
the crash. Aliyah Dana Houghton was only 22 years old.
Witnesses claimed an argument erupted before takeoff between the pilot
and Aliyah's entourage over the plane being overweight by hundreds
of pounds. An investigation later determined that the pilot also
(27:16):
had cocaine and alcohol in his system. Years later, it
was alleged that because of her fear of flying, Aliyah
was already asleep when she boarded the plane. After receiving
a sedative,
the death of Aliyah had a tremendous impact on friends,
family and fans as well as the entire music industry.
Her body was laid to rest on August 31st 2001
(27:36):
at the church of Saint Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan, New York.
In the aftermath, Aliyah's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit
against the operator of the aircraft and it was settled
out of court six months after she passed away. Aiyah
was immortalized on the big screen with the release of
Queen of the Damned
while it fared well at the box office. Unfortunately, the
(27:56):
film was panned by critics. No. Aliyah music was featured
in the film either, however, there were plans for her
to record a duet with Corn Front man. Jonathan Davis
who also made a cameo in the film before her death.
Aaliyah was also set to appear in the sequel to
the Matrix as the character Z. She actually filmed some
scenes which although they didn't make the cut were included
(28:17):
in a tribute feature out on the Matrix ultimate collection
box set.
It's now been more than two decades since Aliyah left
us and her influence continues to grow each day
appearing at the 2002 MTV V. Ma S Missy Elliott
paid tribute to her late collaborator and baby girl with
a jacket emblazoned with Ayah's image. She remembered her friend
(28:38):
and protege when she spoke to much. Music's Bradford Howe.
She's not here in body, but she's here in spirit
and she's gonna be forever missed. Unfortunately. Uh You know,
it had to be a tragic like that, but I
feel like she's here and I, I put her on
my
could be out of the negative. Yes. Yes. You know,
(28:58):
you got to get something out of it. And unfortunately,
it was a tragic but I think with the loss,
you learn to love the people while they're here on
earth and not take for granted a people that you
see all the time and they going to be here
for did force you to draw closer to anyone. You know,
tell me my whole family, I mean, my family, my
extended family,
what me and you know, me Timberland and j I
(29:20):
have always been uh very close but you know, we
contact each other more uh because we don't want to
have another loss like that. Multiple posthumous compilations such as
I Care For You and Ultimate Aliyah appeared in the
years that followed. But a much discussed fourth album did not.
Although Drake, a hardcore fan claimed he was co producing
a new album for Black Ground records, featuring unreleased material
(29:43):
from Aliyah. The idea was disowned by Timberland and Missy
Elliott who denied any involvement in the project while the
album never materialized. Drake did release a new song called
Enough Set, featuring vocals from the late R and B star.
Aliyah's Star has never faded. Whether it's Mac dropping a
special Aliyah for Mac Cosmetics collection or Madame Tussaud's unveiling
(30:04):
a wax figure of Aliyah in her try again outfit
the princess of R and B will always be with us.
And there's no further proof that the timelessness of her
biggest hit. Try again, which to this day is always
popping up on radio and streaming playlists as we speak.
I'm Miles Galloway. And that was the story of Aaliyah's
try again on Encore with new episodes every Thursday.
(30:28):
Encore is an iheartradio Canada podcast. Subscribe to this podcast
on iheartradio or wherever you get your podcasts. Download the
iheartradio app for more great podcasts just like these.
This is Encore. The stories behind the songs. Here's Ihe
Radio's Miles Galloway.
It's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you. Well, actually,
it's only been a week. I'm Miles Galloway. And this
is the story of Aliyah's try again
(00:21):
when your name means the highest most exalted one, the best,
you know, you're destined for great things. And Aliyah definitely
achieved great things in her life, an icon of nineties
R and B. Aliyah immediately became one of the genre's
biggest artists at the young age of 14. Eventually redefining
the role of what an artist in that genre could
(00:43):
be breaking through into the hip hop and pop.
Since her untimely death in 2001, the proclaimed princess of
R and B has left behind a legacy in which
to this day, she continues to be celebrated for her
talent as both a recording artist and a motion picture
star while being credited for introducing a sound that is
widely considered the blueprint for R and B today. Am
(01:05):
I saying your name? Right? I am right. I say
Aah
a like Muhammad Ali, I got it. How are you? Aliyah?
Dana Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16th,
1979 to parents Diane and Michael Horton. The Holden family
(01:25):
relocated to Detroit, Michigan where Michael got a warehouse job
working for his brother-in-law Barry Hankerson, a music industry, veteran
and entertainment lawyer. Once married
Motown legend, Gladys Knight Diane was a professional singer who
stayed at home to raise Aliyah and her older brother.
By two years, Rashard Aliyah inherited her mother's passion for
singing and began taking singing lessons that helped her perform
(01:48):
at weddings, churches and charity events. From a very young age.
This prepared her for her first role while attending Gay
Sioux Catholic elementary school. Aliyah won the lead in the
school's production of Annie
Aliyah then began attending auditions for commercials and television shows
including hit ABC sitcom, Family Matters. Best known for giving
us the biggest nerd ever, Steve Urkel Aliyah tried out
(02:12):
for the role of Judy, the youngest child in the
Winslow family, but lost out to actress Valerie Jones. Then
at the age of 10, she appeared on Star Search,
a weekly television talent show hosted by Tonight show, Star
Ed mcmahon
in the eighties and nineties. Everyone from Beyonce and Britney
Spears to Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake tried to impress
the judges on Star Search over the show's run. Here's
(02:34):
a clip of 10 year old Aah being introduced by
Ed mcmahon. Now,
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Aah, you're a great singer. What else do you do?
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Well, of course, I love to sing and I love
to dance and act and
Speaker 2 (02:46):
I
Speaker 1 (02:46):
love
Speaker 2 (02:46):
swimming.
Swimming. Terrific. All around girl. All right. Let's find out
what the judges have to
say.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Unfortunately, Aah wasn't successful in singing the standard classic. My
funny Valentine. But her opponent, a girl named Katrina Abrams
will always have those bragging rights, I guess. Still years
later mcmahon who wasn't, one of the judges would tell
Vibe Magazine that he saw something special in Aaliyah. There's
a thing that you
see when somebody walks out on the stage, I call
(03:13):
it the fire. They got that inner fire which has
nothing to do with the schooling, nothing to do with
the teacher, nothing to do with the parents. There's a
desire in that person to please the audience, you see
enough of it to recognize it. And that's what I
saw with Aliyah while losing on national television was heartbreaking
for young aiyah. It didn't stop her from chasing her dream.
Her uncle Barry Hankerson was there to help
(03:34):
out taking her to Las Vegas to perform with her
aunt Gladys. Knight. Aliyah performed two songs nightly over five
days with Knight who would invite her out on stage
to sing one song in the middle of the concert
and close the night with a duet together for believe
in yourself. I would stand in the middle of the
stage sing and just walk off. Ay would tell the telegraph.
Gladys said to me, you can't do that you have
(03:55):
to work the audience make them feel what you feel.
Years later, Knight would recall those moments with Aalyah to
Hello magazine saying from an early age, I knew she
had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift. When she first performed
with me in Las Vegas. She was still quite young,
but she already had it that spark the world would
later see and fall in love with.
(04:15):
It was around this time that Aliyah began auditioning for
record labels in hopes of scoring a record deal with
guidance from her mother, Aalyah dropped her last name and
began marketing herself simply as Aalyah. Her uncle Barry took
her to Vanguard Studios in Detroit to record some demos.
He could shop around to labels. He caught some ears
of reps at both Warner Music and MC A records,
but neither label was willing to sign an artist that
(04:37):
was only 12 years old at the time, a deal
though was waiting for them. One that would end up
being both a blessing and a curse.
At the same time, he was trying to launch Aliyah's
career as a recording artist. Barry Hankerson was also managing
an up and coming R and B artist named Robert Kelly,
better known as R. Kelly. Kelly had been a member
(04:57):
of Chicago new swing group public announcement, but he left
the group to pursue a solo career after just one album.
Thanks to Kelly's deal with Jive Records.
Ferson repeatedly pitched Aliyah's music to the label as early
as the age of 11, while the head of the label,
Clive colder heard the potential in her voice. He felt
Aliyah was too young and still needed to develop as
an artist. And so Aaliyah began studying drama at the
(05:20):
newly opened Detroit High School for fine and performing arts
where she would later graduate with a 4.0 GPA.
At the age of 14. Aliyah finally got her deal
with Jive Records, which agreed to distribute her music through
Hankerson s own label, Black Ground Records. Years later then
Jive A and R rep, Jeff Sledge would describe what
made Aliyah so special from a young age.
(05:41):
She had her own voice. It didn't fall off because
she didn't remind you of anybody. It was her knowing
what she wanted to do and how she wanted to look,
even as a young child, even as a young kid,
you could tell that she had that something. She was
a great addition to the label because we didn't have
a young girl like that, rapping or singing
a girl that was straight up R and B like that.
We didn't have anybody. It was a hole that she
(06:02):
filled once she was signed, Hankerson brought in R. Kelly
to begin working with Aaliyah on her music following the
success of his solo debut album, 12 Play. She talked
to much music's master T about working with R. Kelly
and how it all happened.
How did you hook up with R Kelly? Because I mean, he's,
is he like, he's obviously some, I guess, a mentor
for you. I guess he is. He's my best friend. Really.
(06:23):
We've been known each other for around three years and
I met him before he came out with born into
the nineties through my manager, which is also his manager.
That's how we met. And I sang for him when
I first met him. And um a couple of months later,
we went to a studio and started working,
you make it sound so simple. But I mean, it's,
I mean, I mean, he's my manager is my uncle. So,
you know, he's been in the business for a while.
(06:44):
So having him, you know, helped a lot and getting
a lot of things done because he had a lot
of connections for some reason, it made sense to everyone
involved that a 27 year old man could write from
the perspective of a then 14 year old girl. But
the media had its concerns. Aliyah defended the weirdness of
the situation to the Los Angeles Times saying
he just spent time with me trying to see how
(07:06):
I thought about things and what people my age think
it may seem funny for him to do an album
like this, but he has ideas about different things that
he can't use on his albums. Not only was Kelly,
the sole songwriter and producer for Aliyah's debut album, but
he also took on the role of mentor for the
burgeoning singer. The two worked closely at the Chicago recording
company studio with Aliyah flying back and forth between Chicago
(07:29):
and Detroit,
the recording sessions took about nine months before they were
forced to pause so she could still attend school. Kelly
and Aaliyah were spending a lot of time together outside
of the studio too. Going to bowling alleys, cinemas and
arcades to help him better understand how to write lyrics
for her. We vibed off one another and that's how
the songs was built. She told wax poetics, he would
vibe with me on what the lyrics should be. He'd
(07:52):
tell me what to sing and I'd sing it. That's
how the whole album was done.
We put in a lot of hours as far as
the music we'd be in there all night, making sure
it was perfect. There were times when I was tired
but I knew I had to push on if I
wanted to come off. Kelly took full control of every
facet of the album to point of drive executives claiming
it was essentially another R. Kelly album just with a
(08:13):
little girl singing. He even named the album Age Ain't
Nothing but a number which in the following years would
be the source of much speculation and controversy.
But Aliyah knew what kind of artist she wanted to
be and described her sound to much music. I mean,
how would you describe the record? Is it kind of
like a street sounding, uh kind of record? Yeah, like
my image is really, it's like a gangster type of flair.
(08:34):
The music,
it really isn't like hardcore or anything really. Everybody can
relate to it. I feel everybody of all ages. So
it's got a street flair but it's not, you know,
hardcore gangster and preceded by Aliyah's first single back and forth.
AJ nothing but a number was released on May 24th, 1994.
The album was well received by critics who applauded its
(08:56):
ability to combine R and B
hip hop pop and New Jack Swing while it would
only ever reach number 18 on the Billboard 200. The
album would eventually go on to sell 6 million copies worldwide.
Aliyah was building a following. However, based on her style,
young girls were all of a sudden adopting Aliyah's tomboyish
look wearing tos, as we say here in Canada or beanies,
(09:17):
as they say in other parts of the world with
their hair hanging
down sunglasses, Doc Martins boxers and big baggy jeans. Speaking
to master T. Aliyah described what it was like being
a young star who had to balance her music with
her school work. It's hard, it's really hard to enter
a care in school. But um I feel education is
number one. So my parents helped me out and the
school has really been cooper giving me my work in
(09:40):
it can you say that again one more time?
The education, the education education is number one. Thank you
very much. Number one. And um you know, I work hard.
It's hard though because I want to be very good
in this career and I rehearse a lot. But you know,
I have time for school work. I make time
while Aliyah's Star power was beginning to take off. So
(10:00):
were rumors that she and R. Kelly had a secret
romance on the side. From the sentimental dedication on the
back of the album that read written and produced by R. Kelly,
especially for Aiyah to the overly sexual lyrics written by
the man who popularized the term bump and grind age.
Ain't nothing but a number became fodder for the gossip columns.
It all came to a head in January 1995 when
(10:22):
Vibe published an expose claiming 15 year old Aliyah was
secretly married to 28 year old R. Kelly
included in the article was a photo of a marriage
certificate confirming the nuptials happened at the Sheraton Gateway Suites
in Rosemont, Illinois back on August 31st, 1994. Most interesting
of all is that it listed Aaliyah's age as 18
(10:44):
years old, which made her appear as an adult even
more shocking than that. Some media outlets reported that Aaliyah
was also pregnant with Kelly's child. All of a sudden,
Aliyah's brief blossoming career was about to be overshadowed by
one bombshell of a scandal
with the media focused heavily on the relationship between Aaliyah
and R. Kelly. Both parties denied the two had exchanged
(11:06):
vows in February 1995. At the demand of her family.
Aiyah reportedly filed to have the marriage certificate annulled in
the city of Detroit. She was also instructed to immediately
cut ties both personally and professionally with Kelly. Two years later,
Aah would also file a petition in the State of
Illinois
to have the invalidated marriage certificate wiped from her record,
(11:28):
which was granted by a judge who sealed the documents.
Elia would avoid discussing Kelly moving forward when she was
asked about the Chicago Sun Times about her alleged marriage
to him. She said, I don't really comment on that
because I know that's not true. When people ask me,
I tell them, hey, don't believe all that mess. We're
close and people took it the wrong way, but Kelly's
(11:49):
presence would linger for years to come
in 2019 while Kelly was on trial for racketeering, which
included charges of kidnapping, forced labor and sex trafficking. His
former tour manager, Demetrius Smith would testify in court that
he obtained an official state ID for Aaliyah that did
not reveal her date of birth after she believed she
(12:09):
was pregnant. He also worked with Kelly's inner circle to
help Kelly get a marriage license so he could marry
Aaliyah to quote,
protect himself and to protect Aliyah. That same year, a
two part docuseries on lifetime called Surviving R. Kelly revealed
that Aliyah's family had allegedly signed a non disclosure agreement
with R. Kelly stating that they wouldn't press charges against
(12:31):
him for his illegal marriage to their daughter if he
promised to sell them the rights to his first three albums.
Aaliyah was looking to move on with her life and
her career though. But that was easier said than done
despite selling millions of copies of her debut album, Aah
was stigmatized by the music industry for her involvement in
the scandal. At the same time, she was struggling to
find herself as an artist. After the ordeal with R. Kelly,
(12:53):
she would tell wax poetics. I faced the adversity. I
could have broken down. I could have gone and hid
in the closet and said, I'm not gonna do this anymore,
but I love singing and I wasn't gonna let that
mess stop me. I got a lot of support from
my fans that in
fired me to put that behind me, be a stronger person.
Although her uncle Barry Hankerson continued to work with R. Kelly.
(13:15):
Aliyah was released from her deal with Jive Records which
allowed her to try and start over with a clean
slate still with Hankerson S Black Ground Records. Aiyah joined
Atlantic Records and began to rebrand herself with a new
label and a new sound. She also wanted an opportunity
to contribute to the songwriting. She would tell much music's
Tracy Melcher.
Yeah, definitely. I'm gonna work with some new producers, get
(13:37):
a new feel new vibe on the next album and
me and my brother write a lot together. So hopefully
we can get a song or two on the next album,
you know, try out our talents. But I think I'm
gonna have more creative control on this album free of R.
Kelly's control over her music. Atlantic wanted to grow Aliyah's
sound by setting her up with different collaborators, but also
allow her to cori and make executive decisions herself. I
(14:00):
wanted to maintain my smooth
street musical image but wanted to be funky and hot
yet sophisticated. She told Billboard established names like Jermaine Dupree,
Dark Child and Darryl Simmons signed on to work with Aliyah,
but she also wanted to work with unknown producers who
could help her to find a sound all to herself.
It was then that Atlantic's Vice president of A and R.
(14:21):
Craig Coleman suggested working with up and comer producer slash songwriters,
Tim Mosley, better known as Timberland
and Missy Elliot who had sent in a demo that
impressed him. Coleman would recall his meeting with Timberland to vibe.
He started playing me beats and it was a really
obvious meeting of this doesn't sound like anything that's out
there and really had its own super exciting and electric
(14:43):
just dynamic properties. I called up Aliyah and I said
you need to meet this guy. His name's Timberland and
he's new. I think this could be your muse to
really create something special. We put Missy and Timberland and
Aaliyah together and everybody really hit it off famously. The
chemistry was incredible and they just started creating and creating
and it really worked.
The two met up with the 16 year old Aaliyah
(15:04):
in Detroit as she was finishing her studies at Detroit
High School for the fine and performing arts. Both Timberland
and Missy weren't sure what Aliyah would think of the
sound they'd been working on. Missy would tell Billboard, I
was scared, I don't know if Tim was scared when
we first played it because it was a different sound.
It was a different way to attack records because people
were really singing then that world of rap singing didn't
(15:26):
really exist. However, Aliyah liked how the duo were pushing
the envelope and coming up with a fresh and futuristic
sound that no one had heard before with Timberland's skittering
production and Missy Elliott's staccato phrasing of the lyrics. Aliyah
felt their cutting edge style was exactly what she was
hoping for. Speaking with wax poetics. Aliyah said before we
(15:46):
got together, I talked to them on the phone and
told them what I wanted. I said, you guys know
I have a street image but there's a sexiness to
it and I want my songs to compliment that. I
told them that before I even met them once. I
said that I didn't have to say anything else. Everything
they brought me was the Bomb
Timberland. And Missy Elliott would end up Cori and producing
the majority of Aliyah's sophomore album, which she called One
(16:08):
In a Million. The album begins with Missy declaring, you've
just now entered into the next level. The new world
of funk which set the tone for an album. People
would credit for changing the face of R and B.
Moving forward.
One in a million was released on August 13th, 1996.
2 years after Aliyah's debut, more than anything, it proved
(16:29):
that Aaliyah was willing to take the risks necessary to
become the artist. She saw herself as the album was
both a critical and commercial success with lead single. If
your girl only knew topping Billboard's Us Hot R and
B hip hop songs and peaking at number 11 on
the Hot 100
and it didn't just stop at the music. Once again,
Aliyah reinvented her image becoming the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger
(16:51):
sporting the red, white and blue signature colors often in
her public appearances. She also introduced an instantly iconic look
by wearing her hair down, swooped across half her face
to cover one eye. Rumors spread
that she wore the hairstyle and sunglasses because she was
blind in one eye. However, the hairstyle was simply paying
tribute to her mom's favorite actress Veronica Lake. She would
(17:12):
talk to much music's Nam Kana about the importance of
her style. Well, you know, everything goes hand in hand,
you know, image is important. That's how people identify with you. So,
um I'm always aware of what I wear, you know, or,
or um you know, what, whatever I'm doing in a
video conceptually and, and fashion wise, it's very important to me. So,
(17:32):
um
it's, it's, it's something that um that I think about
to keep
myself real and like I said, to keep myself very
different and my stylist knows me better than anybody. So,
you know, he knows what I'm like, what I'm gonna
like what I'm not gonna like. But you know, it's
not everything but it is an important aspect of my.
In 1997 Aah would surprise the music world by recording
(17:53):
a pop version of Journey to the Past for the
soundtrack to the Fox animated film, Anastasia.
The song was markedly different from her R and B sound,
but it received a nomination at the 70th Academy Awards
for best original song losing out to Celine Dion's. My
heart will go on from Titanic.
In fact, Aliyah's next few songs were all recorded for
(18:14):
the big screen. And her next release would become one
of her biggest hits to date recorded for the Doctor
Dolittle soundtrack. Are you that somebody found Timberland in a
giant sandbox playing around with all sorts of toys and
tricks from the iconic sample of a baby cooing to
the dizzying beats that were inspired by Willy Wonka and
the Chocolate Factory's Oompa Loompa song, Aliyah's Breathy vocals are
almost eclipsed by everything going on.
(18:36):
But argue that somebody was a crossover hit for Aliyah
getting airplay all over top 40 radio topping Billboard's Us
R and B hip hop airplay chart and earning her
her first grammy nomination for best female R and B
vocal performance. She would follow that up with Idel Wanna
from the Ice Cube starring comedy next Friday, which went
all in on showcasing her R and B roots. The
(18:57):
song would also make an appearance on the soundtrack to
Romeo Must Die. A new action flick based on Shakespeare's
Roman
and Juliet starring Chinese martial arts superstar Jet Lee. Aliyah
had an even bigger role with this film and its soundtrack.
Not only did she contribute four songs to the film,
including the muscular come back in one piece with DMX.
She also scored her first acting gig opposite Jet Lee
(19:19):
that required her to even learn some fighting moves. Speaking
to the associated press. Aliyah explained that the role of
Trish o'dea appealed to her because she felt that there
were parallels to her life. I wanted this role
because I thought we were similar in a lot of ways.
She's a tough girl, she's independent um but she loves
her family and that's what motivates her and, and, and
um that's where her anger comes from because she doesn't,
(19:40):
she doesn't approve of the lifestyle, but she's, she's a
no nonsense girl. Romeo must die was a surprise hit
at the box office, but even bigger was the single
released from the soundtrack. The track was called Try again
and found Aliyah teaming up with friends Timberland and Static
major to create something unlike
anyone had heard before. Blending the genres of pop R
(20:00):
and B trip hop techno and hip hop Timberland brought
a sample from Eric B and Rakim. Si know you
got so to use for the intro along with the
squelching synths, synthetic horns and strings and his own fake
record scratching noises. He also came up with a dope
beat to step to but it was purely by accident
and he almost lost it after making it. He would
tell the I AM Athlete podcast wrote that record like
(20:23):
um
ain't nothing really come to mind, you know, I was
in my zone. I was in my bag. It was
like another hit for me. And, and then when I
found that baseline, it was like I had, I was
playing with this, this keyboard and it was a mistake
and the engine, my engineer, Jimmy Douglas caught it. I said, Jimmy,
did you, did you catch that little rhythm? He said,
I sure did. And so he caught it, played it
(20:44):
back and I just put the beat on it. I said,
oh chop it right there and then I was like,
he chopped it right there
and it came in there. So me and Static always
wrote because Static wrote. So she wrote a lot of
genuine records. He wrote Pony. So Static um Static wrote
the record and the song was like the first, so
the first version was you could be a fireman, a counselor,
a lawyer too. So it was too like preachy. And
(21:07):
then Barry was like, yo, you gotta make it more fun.
So we just changed up the lyrics. He sta he
had the hook
and we knew it was dope Once we like changed
last stat, like, oh, we could change the hook. So
we didn't have to change the hook. The stat just
changed the, the, the, the verse and uh
it was just, we know it was, we know we
(21:27):
knew what it was, you know, but when Jay Z
came in the studio and he was like, oh, that's
what I was like, oh yeah, we got one. But
for us it was more like, you know, we know,
we know it, we know it's good for us. We don't,
we didn't know it was a hit. We just know
that it was good for what we was doing. Yeah,
I know it was dope because the sound was dope. I,
(21:48):
it was doing a page and people weren't doing a
pe back then.
So I was doing this kind of rhythm that like
mhm I said, did you catch that? Because I had
missed it. But thank God, my engineer caught it because
it wouldn't, we would not hear that song. Today
with Timberland cooking up the beat. Aliyah sings about a
relationship where she tries to convince her lover not to
(22:10):
give up on her, which she described on set while
making the video relationship about a guy approaching me. And
I'm I'm saying basically, if I don't say yes, up front,
will you leave me alone or will you try again?
If first you don't succeed? Just give it one more chance.
It's about perseverance is, yeah. And if I'm worth it,
(22:30):
just try again. You know, Jet Lee makes an appearance
in the video doing his martial arts moves in a
room full of mirrors where Aliyah and her dancers work
through the choreographed moves. It was directed by Wayne Achar
who previously worked on videos with Metallica Ozzy Osborne and yes,
Ricky Martin. The concept was a combination of the futuristic
vibes of the song mixed with recreated scenes from the
(22:52):
movie along with clips of some actual scenes. But the
idea for the very cool looking room of mirrors came
from Aaliyah who wanted to recreate that awesome memorable scene
from Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon
released on March 21st 2000. The same week as Romeo
Must Die. Try again was an immediate smash hit. The
song found a home across multiple genres, pop, hip hop,
(23:14):
R and B and dance, but it achieved something. Neither
Aaliyah nor Timberland had ever done before. It reached number
one on the Billboard Hot 100. While it would be
nominated at the Grammy Awards for best
female R and B vocal performance. The video won two
Moon Men at the MTV video music awards for best
female video and best video from a film. Try again
(23:35):
was the crossover breakthrough. Aliyah had been waiting for the
song's success broke her out of the R and B
and hip hop bubble and established her as a bona
fide pop star while also bringing electronic music to the
forefront of R and B. Almost immediate
after that, Aliyah jumped right back into the movies. She
was cast as the title character in a film adaptation
of Anne Rice's novel, Queen of the Damned. The sequel
(23:56):
to interview with the Vampire in it. She played Akasha,
the mother of all vampires who dated back to ancient Egypt.
She explained what attracted her to the role in an
interview with much music's Nan Kanoka. I love the fact
that she was totally in control. She's this powerful being
who is a bit me, you know, I kind of
want to explore those sides of myself and,
(24:17):
and, and, and uh bring that character to life. I
took a month here in New York to get with
an accent coach to
figure out what kind of accent I want to give
her being that she's Egyptian. So we came up with
a hybrid of a few different things. Um that was
my acting coaches. And when I went to Australia, we
did a month of rehearsals, more acting lessons and even
working with dance coaches to figure out how vampires move
(24:39):
and a lot of different things to just bring the characters,
you know, to life. But I really had a lot
of fun with her, you know, being that manipulative but
yet very sensual creature
while shooting the movie. Aalyah also spent time in the
recording studio filming her scenes by day on location in
Australia and working on her next album at night. In total,
the album was recorded in different studios throughout Melbourne, New
(25:01):
York and L A taking nearly three years to finish
sessions finally wrapped up in March 2001 more than two
years after it was originally expected to be released. I'm
glad that I took a break, you know, um to
think about how I wanted to approach the third album
to put the time that I wanted to put into it,
to make sure that it was the best that it
could be for my fans. I feel they deserve the best.
(25:23):
So I wanted to uh
give my all and, and, and I'm glad it is
coming out at this point, you know, because I'm older now,
the the album has a very mature feel to it yet.
It's something that still young people can get into people,
my age, people older. So I feel it has something
for everybody and um
I'm just happy with, with the outcome, you know, it's,
(25:45):
it's exactly what I wanted while Timberland would only produce
two of the album's tracks, including I Care For You,
written by Missy Elliott. The album simply titled Aliyah was
a moment for Aliyah to demonstrate she was no longer
a kid. She was now a woman. This was demonstrated
by more mature productions like I Care for you more
than a woman and it's whatever the influence of which
you can hear on so many contemporary R and B
(26:07):
pop artists.
Earlier, the album was finally released on July 7th 2001.
Preceded by the single. We need a resolution as well
as try again, which was added as a bonus track.
It debuted at number two on the billboard 200 chart
and would reach number one shortly after after a five
year wait, Aaliyah was on top of the world with
the success of her third album. But then tragedy struck
(26:30):
after wrapping a video shoot for the album's second single,
Rock The Boat
with Fame. Director Hype Williams. Aliyah boarded a flight home
to Florida one day earlier than scheduled. The twin engine
plane was smaller than expected and overloaded, carrying more weight
than it should have shortly after takeoff. The plane crashed
just 200 m from the runway eight passengers including Aiyah,
(26:53):
her hairstylist, security guard, makeup artist and two black ground
records employees died instantly
the crash. Aliyah Dana Houghton was only 22 years old.
Witnesses claimed an argument erupted before takeoff between the pilot
and Aliyah's entourage over the plane being overweight by hundreds
of pounds. An investigation later determined that the pilot also
(27:16):
had cocaine and alcohol in his system. Years later, it
was alleged that because of her fear of flying, Aliyah
was already asleep when she boarded the plane. After receiving
a sedative,
the death of Aliyah had a tremendous impact on friends,
family and fans as well as the entire music industry.
Her body was laid to rest on August 31st 2001
(27:36):
at the church of Saint Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan, New York.
In the aftermath, Aliyah's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit
against the operator of the aircraft and it was settled
out of court six months after she passed away. Aiyah
was immortalized on the big screen with the release of
Queen of the Damned
while it fared well at the box office. Unfortunately, the
(27:56):
film was panned by critics. No. Aliyah music was featured
in the film either, however, there were plans for her
to record a duet with Corn Front man. Jonathan Davis
who also made a cameo in the film before her death.
Aaliyah was also set to appear in the sequel to
the Matrix as the character Z. She actually filmed some
scenes which although they didn't make the cut were included
(28:17):
in a tribute feature out on the Matrix ultimate collection
box set.
It's now been more than two decades since Aliyah left
us and her influence continues to grow each day
appearing at the 2002 MTV V. Ma S Missy Elliott
paid tribute to her late collaborator and baby girl with
a jacket emblazoned with Ayah's image. She remembered her friend
(28:38):
and protege when she spoke to much. Music's Bradford Howe.
She's not here in body, but she's here in spirit
and she's gonna be forever missed. Unfortunately. Uh You know,
it had to be a tragic like that, but I
feel like she's here and I, I put her on
my
could be out of the negative. Yes. Yes. You know,
(28:58):
you got to get something out of it. And unfortunately,
it was a tragic but I think with the loss,
you learn to love the people while they're here on
earth and not take for granted a people that you
see all the time and they going to be here
for did force you to draw closer to anyone. You know,
tell me my whole family, I mean, my family, my
extended family,
what me and you know, me Timberland and j I
(29:20):
have always been uh very close but you know, we
contact each other more uh because we don't want to
have another loss like that. Multiple posthumous compilations such as
I Care For You and Ultimate Aliyah appeared in the
years that followed. But a much discussed fourth album did not.
Although Drake, a hardcore fan claimed he was co producing
a new album for Black Ground records, featuring unreleased material
(29:43):
from Aliyah. The idea was disowned by Timberland and Missy
Elliott who denied any involvement in the project while the
album never materialized. Drake did release a new song called
Enough Set, featuring vocals from the late R and B star.
Aliyah's Star has never faded. Whether it's Mac dropping a
special Aliyah for Mac Cosmetics collection or Madame Tussaud's unveiling
(30:04):
a wax figure of Aliyah in her try again outfit
the princess of R and B will always be with us.
And there's no further proof that the timelessness of her
biggest hit. Try again, which to this day is always
popping up on radio and streaming playlists as we speak.
I'm Miles Galloway. And that was the story of Aaliyah's
try again on Encore with new episodes every Thursday.
(30:28):
Encore is an iheartradio Canada podcast. Subscribe to this podcast
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