AALIYAH DANA HAUGHTON

AALIYAH DANA HAUGHTON WAS BORN ON JANUARY 16, 1979 IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. SHE WAS RAISED IN DETROIT MICHIGAN. WHEN SHE WAS VERY YOUNG SHE APPEARED ON STAR SEARCH. AT THE AGE OF TWELVE SHE SIGNED A RECORD DEAL WITH JIVE AND BLACKGROUND RECORDS. BLACKGROUND RECORDS WAS OWNED BY HER UNCLE BARRY HANKERSON. HE INTRODUCED HER TO THE FAMOUS R&B SINGER R.KELLY. HE IMMEDIATELY BECAME HER MENTOR, HE WAS THE LEAD SONG WRITER AND PRODUCER OF HER FIRST DEBUT ALBUM...AGE AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A NUMBER!

AGE AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A NUMBER WENT DOUBLE PLATINUM, SELLING OVER THREE MILLION RECORDS WORLD WIDE, SHE WAS ONLY FIFTEEN. AT AGE SIXTEEN AFTER RUMORS AND ALLEGATIONS SURFACED ABOUT HER MARRYING TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD R.KELLY. AALIYAH LEFT JIVE RECORDS AND SIGNED WITH ATLANTIC. SHE RELEASED HER SECOND ALBUM ONE IN A MILLION IN 1996, WHILE ALSO ATTENDING DETROIT MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS WHERE SHE MAINTAINED A 3.8 GPA. ONE IN A MILLION SOLD 3.7 MILLION RECORDS IN THE US, AND 8 MILLION WORLD WIDE.

IN 2000 SHE STARRED IN HER FIRST MAJOR FILM ROMEO MUST DIE. AFTER COMPLETING ROMEO MUST DIE, SHE FILMED HER SECOND MOVIE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED. IN EARLY 2001 SHE RECORDED HER THIRD ALBUM SIMPLY TITLED AALIYAH! WHILE PROMOTING HER THIRD ALBUM SHE TRAVELED TO THE BAHAMAS TO FILM THE VIDEO FOR HER SINGLE ROCK THE BOAT. UNFORTUNATELY THIS WOULD BE THE LAST VIDEO SHE WOULD EVER GET THE CHANCE TO MAKE.

ON AUGUST 25, 2001 SHORTLY AFTER BOARDING A PLANE PROVIDED BY BLACKHAWK INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS. THE PLANE CRASHED KILLING AALIYAH AND 8 OF HER FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES. AALIYAH WAS EJECTED TWENTY FEET FROM THE PLANE, AND AUTOPSY REPORTS SHOWS THAT SHE DIED ON IMPACT, SUFFERING SEVERE BURNS AND A CRACK SKULL. IT ALSO SHOWS THAT EVEN IF AALIYAH WOULD HAVE SURVIVED THE CRASH, SHE GENERALLY SUFFERED FROM A WEAK HEART. SHE WENT INTO SUCH A STATE OF SHOCK, THAT RECOVERY WOULD HAVE BEEN NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. ON AUGUST 31, 2001 HER FAMILY HAD A PRIVATE FUNERAL AND PUBLIC MEMORIAL HONORING HER LIFE AND DEATH. SHE WAS BURIED IN FERNCLIFF CEMETERY WHERE HER BODY STILL REST TODAY.

AALIYAH'S FAMILY FILED A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AGAINST BLACKHAWK INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS WHICH WAS SETTLED OUT OF COURT. TO THIS DAY AALIYAH'S DEATH IS STILL A MYSTERY AND A TRAGIC LOST. AUGUST 25, 2010 MARKED THE NINTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF HER DEATH. ON JANUARY 16, 2011 SHE WOULD HAVE TURNED THIRTY TWO YEARS OLD. AALIYAH HAS BEEN CREDITED FOR DEFINING R&B AND HIP HOP CROWNING HER THE PRINCESS OF R&B. HER SUCCESS STILL REMAINS UNTOUCHABLE. SHE HAS SOLD A TOTAL OF 32 MILLION ALBUMS WORLDWIDE, NO ARTIST HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TOP HER SUCCESS AND HER STATUS SINCE AND THEY NEVER WILL.

SINCE HER DEATH IN 2001, AALIYAH IS ONE OF THE TOP ONE HUNDRED NAMES OF BABY GIRLS BORN IN THE UNITED STATES. SHE HAS HAD ARTISTS SUCH AS CIARA AND TIFFANY EVANS RESEMBLING HER STYLE OF MUSIC AND CLOTHES IN HONOR OF THE IMPACT SHE LEFT ON THEM AS YOUNG GIRLS. ALTHOUGH SHE DIED NINE YEARS AGO, IT STILL SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY TO ME AND I OFTEN FIND MYSELF WONDERING WHY AND IMAGINING WHAT SHE'D BE LIKE AND WHAT WOULD MUSIC BE LIKE IF SHE WAS STILL HERE TODAY. GOD BLESSED US WITH AN ANGEL FOR 22 YEARS THEN HE TOOK HER HOME TO BE WITH HIM, SO WE CAN BE AT PEACE KNOWING THAT SHE'S NO LONGER IN PAIN AND SHE LIVED A JOYFUL AND FULFILLED LIFE IN THE SHORT TIME SHE WAS HERE WITH US.