Rest in Sweet Peace, Baby Girl!
It’s hard to believe it’s been 12 years since Aaliyah passed. She was truly one in a million…….
Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson’s Blackground Records when she was only 12. Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.”
After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with R. Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records.
At the age of 22 in 2001, Aaliyah was on top of the world with Grammy and Oscar nominations already under her belt. The platinum-selling artist and actress had a bright future, but it was to be short lived.
August 25, 2013
Tragedy struck on August 25, 2001 when, after filming a video in the Bahamas for an album, Aaliyah and various members of her record company attempted to fly to Opa-Locka, Florida aboard a small plane (Cessna 402-B). On that afternoon shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island Bahamas, at 6:50pm, the small light aircraft crashed about 200 feet from the runway killing Aaliyah and everyone aboard. It was later determined that the cause of the crash was due to an overloaded plane.
Her third album posthumously climbed to the #1 position in America, while in the UK “More Than A Woman” reached the top of the singles chart in January 2002.
Her last video, “Rock The Boat” directed by Hype Williams.
Aaliyah was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Burial:
Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum
Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York
Plot: rosewood Mausoleum, Unit 4, Tier CC, Private Alcove, Crypt 3
Notable interments
James Baldwin (1924 – 1987)
Cab Calloway (1907 – 1994)
Malcolm X (1925 – 1965)
Betty Shabazz (1936 – 1997)
Jam Master Jay (1965 – 2002) DJ for Run-D.M.C.
Thelonious Monk (1917 – 1982)
R.I.P.