Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody (Official HD Video)

7 Ways Aaliyah Changed R&B Forever

Fifteen years after her death, the singer's impact is still felt

25 AUGUST 2016       ROLLING STONE       MOSI REEVES

It is one of the greatest moments in modern soul history: The first few seconds when Aaliyah Haughton, then only a 15-year-old newcomer, opens her cover of the Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)" with a few seconds of a cappella brilliance. "Let me know … let me know," she sings with grace, before offering a wordless cry with incandescent softness.

Back in 1994, Aaliyah's career-defining interpretation topped out at Number Six on the Billboard Hot 100, but that was due to radio programmers and BET's Video Soul spinning R. Kelly's "Gangsta Child" remix, which relied on a bass-heavy G-funk beat and an alternate vocal from Aaliyah that's more restrained than the version on her debut, Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number. But from its release, the LP version drew a cult following, first through constant airplay on the late night mix shows that still populate black radio; and then through samples and homages like Drake's "Unforgettable" and Frank Ocean's rendition for his recent "visual album" Endless.

Like so much of Aaliyah's career, "At Your Best (You Are Love)" didn't seem revolutionary at the time of its release. She emerged from the world of black pop, and a part of the music industry that sold plenty of records – all three of her albums are certified multi-platinum – but didn't draw much serious critical attention until just before her tragic death at the age of 22 on August 25, 2001. In retrospect, however, Aaliyah is widely recognized as one of her generation's biggest innovators.

... In a perfect world, Aaliyah would be in her late thirties. Perhaps she would have danced alongside Monica, Tweet and Fantasia during their tribute to Missy Elliott at VH1's Hip-Hop Honors; and would have performed alongside Elliott at the Super Bowl in 2015. Maybe she would be like Mary J. Blige, periodically updating her sound with newfound collaborators like Disclosure and Kanye West; or she'd be like Beyoncé, a pop queen whose throne is never in dispute. Unfortunately, we'll never know the direction Aaliyah's career would have taken. It's that sense of lost possibilities that has burnished her legend, just as it did with past soul geniuses who passed before their time like Donny Hathaway and Minnie Riperton. We can imagine Aaliyah as the princess of R&B who lost her life at the tender age of 24. But it's better to imagine all the ways she's still be changing pop music if she were still here. Read More