Remembering Aaliyah In My Own Way

It’s been twenty-four years since family, friends, the entertainment industry, and fans lost Aaliyah. It’ll be twenty-five years next year, but something in me wanted to write something about her today. Maybe it’s the fact that I wrote a blog post back when I first started my site, before I lost everything when I migrated hosts. Or it could be the fact that I’m just that much of an Aaliyah fan.

It could very much be both… It’s definitely both.

Today, in celebration of Aaliyah, I wanted to share some things, such as what she meant and still means to me, a poem I wrote about her, and even a playlist I created in her memory.

What Aaliyah Means To Me

Aaliyah was a lot of things. Aaliyah still is a lot of things.

During her time, she was a singer, dancer, actress, and fashionista. She’s still known for those things, but more so to this day. Now she’s also considered an icon, an inspiration, and a role model to many. During her career, she released three albums, several songs and music videos, starred in two movies, and paved the way in music and fashion. She never cared to be like others, which is one thing that set her apart from others.

She made such an impact in such a short time. People even called her the “Princess of R&B,” a title she still holds today. She was truly one of a kind.

“I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person.”

– Aaliyah

The above quote is one of my favorite quotes by her. During an MTV News segment in July 2021, she made the quote after they asked her what she would want her legacy to be. It’s quite understandable why she would respond with that answer, as from what everyone witnessed, she was genuinely a good person. Most of all, Aaliyah did it all. She accomplished a great deal and was even set to star in a few movies before her untimely passing.

If she were still alive today, I’m sure she would’ve had a prosperous career in music, movies, television, etc.

What Aaliyah Means To Me

She was and still is a role model and inspiration to me personally. I don’t remember when I was first introduced to her music. What I do remember is falling in love with her music, her voice, her style, and her overall aura. She just had that type of energy radiating off of her. No, I never met her; it’s something I could tell by watching her in interviews and stage presence.

Not many of my readers know this, but when I was younger, I had dreams of being a few things, including a singer. That’s something I don’t want to get into right now, but maybe in the future. The reason I’m saying this is that Aaliyah is one of those music artists who helped inspire me when it came to wanting to be one. I wanted to share my voice with the world as she had been doing. I didn’t want fame, but I did want to inspire people the way she inspired me.

If someone was to ask me what my all-time favorite song by Aaliyah is, I wouldn’t know what to say. I have several favorites among her popular songs and her deep cuts. However, I’ll only share a few as most may be found in the playlist posted below. A few of my favorite most known songs include “4 Page Letter,” “One In A Million,” “Try Again,” and “Miss You.” When it comes to the deep cuts, I always find myself randomly singing “I Don’t Wanna,” “I Care 4 U,” “Erica Kane,” and “It’s Whatever.”

A Poem I Wrote About Aaliyah

The poem below is titled “Aaliyah – Truly One In A Million”.

I wrote it when I was sixteen, back in 2007. The only other place I shared it online before now was on Poetry.com, which no longer exists. I left everything as it was with some minor corrections, of course. It felt wrong trying to change it too much.

I don’t know what I was going for when I wrote it. At the time, I just wanted to write about her. I have another poem about her, but I couldn’t find it when searching. Hopefully, I can eventually find it.

As they board the plane
to go to Florida 
at 6:45 PM
they don't know what to do 

they're tired of hardworking
the plane takes off 
flying high 
above the sky

50 feet off the ground
6:50 PM the plane crashes
the engine blows up
leaving nine people lifeless

At the funeral
friends, family, and fans gather
to see babygirl one last time
so now we light a candle to celebrate her life

If you liked this poem and want to read more poetry from me, let me know in the comments below. I won’t and can’t say that I’ll be sharing my poetry in the future, but I will say that I will think about it a lot.

Playlist

A few years ago, I made an Aaliyah playlist featuring my favorite songs by her. At the same time or shortly afterward, I decided to create one featuring songs that other artists created in her memory, as well as those that she inspired. While I could’ve kept the two separate, I figured I would combine the two and even share it.

Some of the artists featured on the playlist include Kehlani, Ciara, JoJo, Missy Elliot, and Brandy. Feel free to follow the playlist if you like.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this blog post about me wanting to celebrate one of my favorite singers of all-time. While I could say more than what’s in here, I felt like I didn’t want to go on to much especially while I can always make a post next year and make that even bigger than this one was.

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