Aaliyah and Timbaland

Aaliyah Talks Her Work with Timbaland 👼

in A very Rare Interview Aaliyah Talked About Working with Her very Close Friend and Her Producer Timbaland About Her Smash Album "One in A Million"

Aaliyah: ‘It was just like working with a friend, because we have a lot in common. He originally sent in a demo and I didn’t really like the song but I liked the track, so I got in touch with his people and said I’d like to work with him but I wanted the songs to be a certain way. We did two demos and really clicked and it turned into 7 songs.” Those seven songs, and two interludes, would account for more than half of the material on One In A Million’ 

Happy birthday @Timbaland 🎉🎊 @TimbalandPage pic.twitter.com/ONqldoM9wj

— Aaliyah Channel (@Aaliyah_channel) March 11, 2017

The 10 Best Aaliyah Instrumentals

Aaliyah reached the top 10 of the pop singles chart with her very first single when only 15. Originally a protege of R. Kelly, she became even more successful in her collaborations with Timbaland and Missy Elliott. Her posthumous releases show just how strong her talent was up until an untimely death in a plane crash at age 22. 

These are 10 of the best Instrumentals of Aaliyah's far too short career. 

Timbaland - Hold On [Instrumental] Unreleased

"Hold On" is One of The Most Emotional Tribute Instrumentals From Timbaland to His Late Friend Aaliyah

If you Love That Track on Timbaland & Magoo "Under Construction II" Album Now You Can Hear To this Unreleased & Rare Instrumental, Rest in Paradise BabyGirl

YOUR FAVORITE AALIYAH SONG ?

Timbaland Talks About Aaliyah

While Timbaland was Promoting for His Book 'The Emperor of Sound' At the BackStory in Highline Ballroom in NYC He Talked About His Relationship with his Late Friend Aaliyah 

                    

Aaliyah - One in a Million (20th Anniversary)

Aaliyah’s second album, 1996’s One in a Million It was a game changing album in her too-short career, as well as in the careers of producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, It was a pivotal moment for Aaliyah. 1994’s Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number put her on the map, but it was well-known that the album was written and produced by her mentor, and lover, R. Kelly. But by 1996, she’d cut ties with Kelly and her label Jive Records. She now had to prove that she was a viable star, on a new record label, without her former mentor.

Off-kilter concussive rhythms, frantic melodies, skittering drums and even an adult contemporary vibe (courtesy of songwriter Diane Warren) intertwine throughoutOne In A Million’s 17 tracks. Unlike Brandy and Monica, two of her musical peers at the time, Aaliyah took a more futuristic approach to R&B music. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the album’s first two singles, “If Your Girl Only Knew” and the title track. The latter saw Aaliyah owning her crown as R&B’s most experimental torchbearer. With production assistance from Missy and Tim, the singer’s tranquil vocals glide over a frantic drum beat as she sings of pleasant vibes with an unnamed lover. (“Your love is a one in a million, it goes on and on and on you give me a really good feelin’ all day long”.)

Adept at the “street but sweet” persona so many R&B girls are still aiming for today, the laid-back approach she displayed on these songs was a pleasant reprieve from the dramatic heartbreak and urgent vocal delivery that dominated the genre during the ’90s. Still, many of the lyrical themes here deal with matters of the heart: teenage love, lust, deceit. This was no surprise, considering Aaliyah was only 17 years old at the time.

Like her idol Janet Jackson, Aaliyah didn’t need to belt out sweeping vocals to get her point across. In that regard, it made her adaptable to the ever changing, genre-defying sounds that would define her discography, and while One In A Million was only the second step in her musical evolution, it proved to be a big leap away from the new jack swing sound pulsing through her first album.

However, she didn’t exclusively utilize her vocals for cooing and soft whispers. On “The One I Gave My Heart To,” the album’s final single, the teenager confirmed what others close to her already knew: she was capable of delivering a vocal performance that would make the era’s dominating divas Whitney Houston and Celine Dion proud.

Aside from its clever combination of electronica and R&B, One In A Million also heralded the arrival of Aaliyah The Music Video Star. Similar to Madonna and Janet, Aaliyah’s brand of masculine appeal laced with feminine sensuality came to life in a deluge of MTV visiuals that played out like sci-fi epics. A quick glance at the music video for “One In A Million” conjures reminders of futuristic films Aliens, The Fifth Element and The Matrix. On the flip side, the accompanying clip for fan-favorite single “4 Page Letter” bears resemblances to island survival fiction like Lord Of The Flies and Lost.

One In A Million eventually sold more than a million worldwide — including two million copies stateside — and frequently pops up on ’90s best-of lists. It’s clear the album’s deft combination of electronic and R&B set a precedent for the music of this decade, sitting comfortably on a shelf alongside recent releases from Kelela, FKA twigs and Nao (just pretend people still put physical copies on shelves). The foresight and risk-taking that Aaliyah showcased in 1996 would become fully realized five years later on her eponymous third (and final) album. And that’s why, 15 years after her passing, we still remain curious about how Aaliyah Dana Haughton would’ve continued to push pop music forward. 

YOUR FAVORITE AALIYAH SONG ?

Timbaland & Missy Elliott Talks About First Time Met Aaliyah

Supafriends Timbaland and Missy Elliott Talks about their first time met with their la
te Friend Aaliyah

YOUR FAVORITE AALIYAH SONG ?

Timbaland and Aaliyah's Memorable Moments

Nowadays, it's hard to remember Aaliyah without thinking of some of her biggest hits with Timbaland. The two, as friends and collaborators, were there during each other's big career moves and staple moments. Check out some of them. We miss you, Aaliyah! 

It All Started With One in a Million 

After Aaliyah left JIVE Records in 1996, Timbaland and Aaliyah began their musical relationship and worked on her second studio album, One in a Million. That’s where it all began.

The Ad-Libs That Became Staples

Timbaland’s muffled ad-libs found a home on Aaliyah’s singles, starting with “Hot Like Fire.”

When Timbaland and Aaliyah Shot a Music Video in a Cave

The video and memorable choreography for "Are You That Somebody?" was just as good as the real-life Los Angeles cave it was set in. Owl included.

Aaliyah Featured on Timbaland & Magoo’s Debut Single

What better way to solidify a friendship and working relationship than to jump on your collaborator’s track? In 1997, Timbaland & Magoo released their debut single, “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” which featured Aaliyah and a rapper that you might have heard of by the name of Missy Elliott.

The Movie Link: Romeo Must Die

With this film, Aaliyah landed her first movie role and served as an executive producer (along with Timbo) on the film’s soundtrack. Success is better with friends.

On the Road to the Grammys

Although Aaliyah never won a Grammy, she was alive for two of her five nominations, which were for Timbaland-produced tracks “Are You That Somebody?” and “Try Again.”

Making Billboard History

Aaliyah made history when she became the first artist to have an airplay-only track, the Timbaland-produced “Try Again,” top the Billboard Hot 100.

The No. 1 Record

The Timbaland-produced “Try Again” was her highest-charting record, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and beating out high-charting singles like “Miss You” at No. 3 and “Rock the Boat” at No. 14.

WATCH THE BEST AALIYAH'S MUSIC VIDEOS

The Best Songs Of Aaliyah

Babygirl.

In a time when female r’n’b singers were getting attention by being ultra sexist, Aaliyah stood above them all by being pure class and elegance. 

Born in Brooklyn, New York, January 16 1979 of African and Oneidan royal heritage. Her name is derived from Arabic ‘Ali’ and Jewish name ‘Aliya’, which means in hebrew ‘highest, the most exalted one, the best’. She is certainly all that. 

Her lyrical style is often described as ‘Street and Sweet’. This is something she herself said in her song ‘Back & Forth’ where she has a line describing herself “”I got jazz personality. G mentality!”. Her lyrical content was often dark, matters of the heart while the songs were uptempo as a contrast. Her legacy for the whole r’n’b and hiphop scene was that the scene was now ready for a more futuristic production style that started to emerge in the early 00’s.

Her death on August 25, 2001 was tragic and early. Aaliyah had thoughts a month before her death that something bad was about to happen to her. “Someone’s following me and I don’t know why. I’m scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. As if I’m swimming in the air. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me”.

You will be missed now and forever.

A small glimpse into a brilliant discography, enjoy. 

1- Junior M.A.F.I.A feat. Lil’ Kim & Aaliyah - I Need You Tonight

2- Aaliyah - Back And Forth

3- Ginuwine feat. Aaliyah - Final Warning

4- Aaliyah - One In A Million 

5- R.Kelly feat. Aaliyah - Your Body’s Calling 

6- Aaliyah - I Miss You 

7- Aaliyah - Try Again




8- Aaliyah - Are You Tnat Somebody

9- Aaliyah - We Need Resolution




10- Aaliyah Feat DMX - Come Back In One Piece

YOUR FAVORITE AALIYAH SONG ?

Timbaland Preview’s New Aaliyah Music

Timbaland knows what we are waiting for, that new Aaliyah. Here’s a snippet of unreleased  baby girl, taken off Timbo’s Christmas day project King Stays King.

YOUR FAVORITE AALIYAH SONG ?

Posted by Timbaland on Saturday, December 19, 2015

http://officialtimbaland.tumblr.com/post/135804364314/the-voice-of-a-angel-aaliyah-dropping-12-25

Timbaland's History Of #1 Hits With Female Artists

Timbaland fired off another heat seeker last week when he unveiled his newest protégé, Tink. The Chicago talent is not the first female the VA producer has stood behind in a room full of sharks, however. Aside from continuing to defend the legacy of his most well-known collaborator, Aaliyah, Timbo has a history of creating platinum hits with female superstars....

 Aaliyah

Timbaland and Missy were recruited to take Aaliyah to the next level when they handled the boards and songwriting, respectively, on her 1996 sophomore release One in a Million. Moving over two million copies, Timbaland’s magical beats took songs like “If Your Girl Only Knew” and “4 Page Letter” to the top of the charts. Their collaborative hits continued with more bangers like “Are You That Somebody” and Baby Girl made Timbo and his double-time production a household name. 

  The Pussycat Dolls

Timbo produced and appeared on The Pussycat Dolls’ international hit “Wait a Minute” and helped take their 2005 debut PCD to multi-platinum heights. The VA producer also circled back around for their second album, Doll Domination, helping the pop divas solidify their run.

  Keri Hilson

Ms. Keri Baby has a string of hits with Timbaland as the two have proven to be quite the duo when it comes to creating music for themselves and others. Keri even signed with Tim’s Mosley Music Group back in 2006, releasing her gold-selling debut It’s A Perfect World in 2009 with him and appearing throughout Timbaland’s platinum-moving Shock Value project. Their hits together include “The Way I Are” and “Scream” 





   Nelly Furtado

Timbaland manned production for Nelly Furtado’s biggest-selling album to date, 2006’s Loose. Moving over 12 million copies worldwide, the LP debuted at No. 1 with Timbo and his production protégé Danja crafting her sonic boom. Timbaland also appeared on the triple platinum-selling single “Promiscuous” while taking Nelly to new heights with hits like “Maneater” and “Say It Right.” 





   Brandy

Brandy was already a star but Timbaland came through with his party style R&B funk for her fourth album,Afrodisiac. The gold-selling project featured Timbo on the title track as well as cuts like “Who Is She 2 U” and earned Brandy a nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2005 Grammys.




     Rihanna

The VA music man provided a few of his platinum touches to Rih Rih’s “Rehab” and “Let Me Get That,” helping to keep the Barbadian beauty atop her pop throne of Top 20 singles.





  Madonna

Impressed with the fingerprints he left on the genre she’s responsible for helping to create, Queen of Pop Madonnaenlisted Timbo to lay his musical hands on her eleventh album Hard Candy back in 2008. Tim laid the backdrop for the free-spirited “Miles Away” and also rocked out with Madonna and Justin Timberlake on the dance floor-popping “4 Minutes.” The record debuted at the top, giving the “Vogue” singer her seventh consecutive No. 1.





   Missy Elliott

His greatest collaborator of the opposite sex, however, is none other than his hometown homie. Timbaland and Missy are as synonymous with each other as Superman and Wonder Woman as they've become superheroes of music for the past 20 years. Working in unison, they’ve sold over 20 million records and have a laundry list of hits together that include “Up Jumps Da Boogie,”  "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” “One Minute Man” and “Gossip Folks.”