/.\aliyah iiN LoViiN mEm0ry

Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16th, 1979 as Aaliyah Dana Haughton. She was moved to Detroit when she was five years old. I think her first acting role was as an orphan when her elementary school performed the play, "Annie." she wasn't the main orphan. At 10 years old, she performed on Star Search, which was a very popular talent show at the time. She lost. When she was 11 years old, she performed with Gladys Knight. Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson, was Gladys' ex-husband. It was at age 12 that the things happened, which caused her music career to soar.Barry was the manager for Robert Kelly, better known as R. Kelly. R. Kelly was a popular singer and extraordinary producer then, as he is now. I probably need to make a webpage about him. With guidance and guest vocals from R. Kelly, Aaliyah's first album was formed. It was called, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number." This is when I got my first Aaliyah album.Shortly after she became popular, rumors started. People were saying Aaliyah had a relationship with R. Kelly. While the rumors were never publicly confirmed, the stories were fueled by the title of her album, and the obviously close relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly. I think the rumors peaked with people saying there were a marriage license and an abortion. I don't know if any of that is true.The next album was, "One In A Million." I got that one too. Interestingly, R. Kelly wasn't on this one. She met Timbaland though. Timbaland is another extraordinary producer. Aaliyah's success grew even more. Her list of songs for movie soundtracks was increasing too. This is the album with my favorite song, "Hot Like Fire." I like the remix.Her biggest contribution to a soundtrack was probably for the movie, "Romeo Must Die." This was also her first movie role. Unlike her role in Annie, this time Aaliyah was the star, and she was alongside Jet Li, a popular actor and martial artist. Honestly, I did not like the movie because all of the Black people kept getting beat up and the fight scenes were so fake. I still have it on tape though because Aaliyah is in it. She played her role well, as DMX played his well. They collaborated on the soundtrack. Timbaland was on the album too. If you want to see DMX shine as an actor, then I suggest you watch "Exit Wounds." We haven't seen the last of Aaliyah either. She has at least two movies that are not released yet.This brings us to Aaliyah's third album, "Aaliyah." Guess what. I got that one too. Her first single, "We Need A Resolution," shows how she has grown as a woman. At only 22 years old, Aaliyah had a successful movie, two successful albums, and many fans behind her. She had an even more promising career in front of her. Her last artistic work was the filming of the music video, "Rock The Boat."After the filming of the video, Aaliyah and those who worked with her were returning home on a small plane. The plane crashed, killing everyone onboard. I don't know exactly what to say about that. I think maybe we should use this to help us understand what is really important, since even a person who has "everything" can suddenly have it all taken away.I am a member of the African Methodist Church so I don't believe people just die. I believe God takes people home. My faith has been tested recently, as my aunt has become sick. I found out today that she had a stroke. After first hearing about Aaliyah, then hearing about terrorist attacks, and now hearing about what my aunt is going through, it seems like things just get worse and worse. I'm not going to let this hold me down and I have prayed for Aaliyah's family as well as other people who are suffering in our country because I do not want these tragedies to hold them down either.Aaliyah's next video is Rock The Boat. She looks beautiful in that video and I think the song is nice. After that, there will be a video for More Than A Woman, and her movies to look forward to. As the intro says, the soul lives on.