The 25 Best Aaliyah Songs

In honor of the 'One in a Million' album hitting streaming services, here are the best Aaliyah songs of all time, including “Try Again,” “I Care 4 U,” & more.

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Aaliyah Dana Haughton accomplished much in the 22 years she was afforded. She recorded three seminal R&B albums, all of which sold at least one million records. She starred in a hit movie. She worked with nearly everyone who was popping in the industry from 1994 to 2001, a list that includes Ginuwine, Treach, Jermaine Dupri, Static Major, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland. More importantly, while working alongside those people, she developed a sound that’s lived on and influenced an entirely new generation of artists, R&B and otherwise. You can hear Aaliyah’s influence all through the music industry right now. 

Aaliyah is best remembered for her genre-bending collaborations with Timbaland. Starting with her sophomore album, One in a Million (which arrived on streaming services in August, 25 years after its release), the two, along with Missy Elliott and other Blackground Records producers, crafted a space-age funk feeling with a string of hits that left an indelible mark on popular music. But it all began in 1994, with her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number. The album was written and produced entirely by R. Kelly, who was introduced to the young Aaliyah by her uncle, Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson. (Kelly’s relationship with the singer has come under increased scrutiny in light of disturbing facts that have surfaced in recent years.) Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number introduced the world to a daring young woman equipped with a stunning voice just starting to explore the terrain of love, lust, and trust. And the releases that followed, the last of which, Aaliyah, arrived a little more than a month before the singer’s death, further cemented her star.

Here are the 25 best songs of Aaliyah’s brief but extraordinary career.

25. "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" (1994)

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Album: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number (1994)

"Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" is an uncomfortable listen in 2014. Written and produced by Aaliyah’s musical mentor at the time, R. Kelly, title song from her 1994 debut is all about a young girl pining for the love of an older man, and her telling society that it doesn’t matter the age difference between the two of them. It’s a head nod-inducing track with a riding bass line that has a 15-year-old Aaliyah reprising Bobby Caldwell (“I got a thing for you, and I won’t let go.”) to assert her assurance about her forbidden love. If it wasn’t for the fact that it later came out that R. Kelly attempted to illegally marry the singer who was, at the time, 12 years his junior, nearly repairably taints the song. However, it's an important one in Aaliyah's career, one that should not be forgotten no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. —Damien Scott 

 

24. "Come Back in One Piece" f/ DMX (2000)

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Album: Romeo Must Die Soundtrack (2000)

In 2000, after three albums, DMX was still barking and yelling at the top of his lungs about not being a nice person. While some may know X only for his aggressive lyrics or his arrest record, any fan knows that he’s a deep dude, and Aaliyah brings out his softer side for “Come Back in One Piece.” It was the lead single on the soundtrack to Romeo Must Die, the Jet Li movie that featured Aaliyah and X.

What made the song work so well wasn’t just DMX using dog metaphors to proclaim loyalty for his girl—it was Aaliyah meeting him somewhere in the middle. Her voice may sound innocent, but Aaliyah always had a wisdom about her, like she had experienced far more life than she ever got the chance to. When she sang “Come Back in One Piece,” she did it like she really understood that all things, even DMX, are more complicated than they seem. —Jacob Moore 

 

23. "The One I Gave My Heart To" (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

Ballads were not a significant part of Aaliyah's exemplary catalog, but records like "The One I Gave My Heart To" proved baby girl could switch from her usual mid-tempo style and deliver an incredible vocal performance. A single from her seminal release One in a Million, "The One I Gave My Heart To" was penned by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren and produced by Daryl Simmons, although the slightly pop-edited single version was produced by Guy Roche. Aaliyah brought the song to life through her smooth soprano vocals, highlighting a broken heart and sense of betrayal, with the accompanying video perfectly depicting her emotional state. "The One I Gave My Heart To" climbed to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of Aaliyah's most commercially successful singles. —Edwin Ortiz

 

22. Timbaland f/ Aaliyah & Missy Elliott "John Blaze" (1998)

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Album: Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment (1998)

By late 1998, Timbaland was the hottest new producer in the music industry, and his solo debut Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment was a compilation of bangers he made with his frequent collaborators (Missy, Ginuwine, Playa) along with a few of his famous new friends (Jay Z, Nas, Twista). Amongst this exhaustive guest list, the Aaliyah collaboration "John Blaze" got lost in the shuffle, but as we look back, it deserves recognition as a slept-on standout from the singer's tragically short catalog.

An early example of Timbo putting his beatboxing front-and-center, "John Blaze" is goofy, gooey fun. Aaliyah gushes endlessly about a man who looks "so fine" that he blows her mind while Missy (who wrote the song) ad-libs the fuck out of every line. The lyrics are so elementary and repetitive-the titular slang term is uttered no less than 30 times throughout the song's four minutes-but that's kind of the point. With its beautiful, urgent melody and fluttering guitar accents, this song could have been fleshed out into a deep, meaningful masterpiece, but there's something charming about it's juvenile simplicity. Most of us will never know what a late-night studio session with Missy and Aaliyah was like, but "John Blaze" makes the listener feel like a fly on the wall. —Brendan Frederick

 

21. "Come Over" f/ Tank (2002)

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Album: I Care 4 U (2002)

Aaliyah's voice did longing so well. The lightness of her touch when stretching out and fluttering the final syllable of a word like "over" in "Come Over" is too pretty. It's actually painful. R&B in the '90s and early aughts isn't synonymous with restraint, which is what makes this ode to booty calls all the more necessary. It's even got a little dying-cell-phone bit that's just amusing enough to inspire a brief smile in a song that's otherwise very serious about desire and its satisfaction. —Ross Scarano

20. "I Gotcha' Back" (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

While One In A Million is largely remembered as a Timbaland x Missy x Aaliyah collaboration, there are a handful of solid songs on the album that were helmed by other songwriters and producers. The best of the bunch is "I Gotcha' Back," a laid-back mid-tempo number crafted by Jermaine Dupri and his frequent collaborator Carl So-Lowe. The Atlanta duo was fresh off producing Xscape's excellent sophomore album Off the Hook, and their collaboration with Aaliyah strikes a similar pose. It's "Lean On Me" (which Aaliyah interpolates on the song's bridge) for the jeep music generation, with Baby Girl playing the world's coolest girlfriend. "When no one else is there, with me you can chill," she promises.

Aaliyah never collaborated with Dupri again, but if she hadn't decided to follow Timbaland to the outer limits of R&B, "I Gotcha' Back" suggests that So So Def could have been a safe haven. —Brendan Frederick

 

19. "Loose Rap" f/ Static (2001)

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Album: Aaliyah (2001)

It's the most informal of Aaliyah's collaborations with Static Major, who helped write the majority of the tracks on her 2001 self-titled album. That makes it the perfect window into their friendship. The title and hook refer to the term they jokingly shared, and on "Loose Rap" she's playful underneath his warped production-her layered harmonies come at you from different directions through his synths and stops. At heart the song's just a taunt ("I know you can come better, can come better than that") and they're two friends boasting and laughing before Aaliyah's ad libs carry us to the end. It's like she endured some lame's come on and then walked away carefree, busting on some fool with her boy. —Elena Bergeron

 

18. "Heartbroken" (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

You can't argue with the pairing of Aaliyah and Timbaland. Her irregular R&B vocals, marked by subtlety and restraint rather than tremendous range and insane melisma, suited the jittery beats produced by the Norfolk, VA native. "Heartbroken" isn't one of their most famous or noteworthy collaborations, but it still trembles and knocks in all the right ways.

On the ballad, from the back-half of One in a Million, Timbaland's drums fill out the space surrounding the low, shifting two-tone synth hum that serves as the song's backbone. "What made you go and run this game on me?" Aaliyah sings. She's tired of being the more loving one in a lousy relationship. She's tired of having her heart broken. The la-la-las that float around the chorus are some of the sweetest syllables she ever sang. —Ross Scarano 

17. "Never No More" (2001)

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Album: Aaliyah (2001)

First thing: Aaliyah is singing her ass off. The drums and piano come in hard, and then she belts: "I gave it all to you." Even if you didn't have the past tense of the verb to tip you off, her voice gives you everything you need to know about how the receiving end of that sentence is a no good motherfucker who will not be getting it all ever again. Or never no more, if you please.

What follows the opening declaration is bracingly real talk about physical abuse in a relationship. "I thought I had lost you, when you twist back my arm/Cause the man I thought I knew wouldn't do me no harm," she sings. The lyrics are nothing but plain and honest when she describes that first time: "I didn't sleep that night/I held my pillow tight/Now trust me when I say, 'You have been told'/I'm telling you never to touch me no more."

The past tense of that first line, though, is deceiving. This isn't a message delivered after having left the abusive relationship. The song's protagonist seems still caught up with the MFer in the final verse: "I just know you better not touch me again or I'll walk away." That simple future tense is the hardest part to hear. —Ross Scarano

 

16. "A Girl Like You" f/ Treach (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

One of the most unabashedly boom-bap moments on One in a Million finds Naughty by Nature's Treach dropping Anita Baker references and ack-ack assonance over a sample of Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness." They do a cute back-and-forth for the chorus: "I'm looking for a guy like you." "Yeah, you know me, I hope." "I hope you feel it in your knees." "Oh yes indeed." The playground qualities complement the very –'90s beat smartly, and by the time you get to the "Baby, I can touch your dada-du-dah" part, you're bopping like you were back in middle school. —Ross Scarano

15. "I Care 4 U" (2002)

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Album: Aaliyah (2001)

If it weren't from some low-in-the-mix beatboxing and complicated drum programming, "I Care 4 U" wouldn't register as a Timbaland production. The electric piano and extremely earnest multi-tracked vocals give off the sheen of neo-soul; this is Aaliyah doing Angie Stone. Simmering over with a warmth that has seemingly little in common with the eccentric soundscapes of "Are You That Somebody" or "Try Again," "I Care 4 U" showed a different path Aaliyah might've walked down. —Ross Scarano

 

14. "I Don't Wanna" (1999)

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Album: Next Friday Soundtrack (1999)

It's strange: In her short career, Aaliyah managed to craft five hits that were released solely on movie soundtracks. This was one of them. Featured on the soundtracks for both Romeo Must Die and Next Friday, "I Don't Wanna," was a sullen record that would have fit perfectly on One in a Million, thanks to its somber keys, halted delivery, and abrasive honesty. It also made for the perfect (or worst) song to play after a breakup, with lyrics like "I can't sleep with you, think without you, eat without you, speak without you, be without out you, I can't even breathe without..." It's heavy stuff made palpable thanks to Aaliyah's even tone. —Damien Scott  

 

13. "More Than a Woman" (2001)

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Album: Aaliyah (2001)

On July 25, 2001, exactly one month before her death, Aalliyah performed “More Than a Woman” on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. It would mark the last live performance before her untimely death. The single, off of her self-titled 2001 album, was officially released to the charts on November 2001. Written by Static Major and Timbaland, “More Than a Woman” is Aaliyah’s ode to wanting to be more than someone’s arm candy. The Timbaland-produced track gives Aaliyah a hypnotizing platform to use tight four, sometimes five syllable couplets to describe falling in love with lines like “Constant pleasure/No scale can measure/Secret treasures/Keeps on getting better.”

The video for “More Than a Woman” was filmed at the beginning of August 2001, the month Aaliyah passed away after filming “Rock the Boat,” but wasn’t premiered until January of the following year. With cameos from Mark Ronson and his then-girlfriend Rashida Jones, the visuals for “More Than a Woman” took place in what appeared to be a futuristic factory. While the video was set in an almost apocalyptic world, the song itself was a mix of pop, electro, and a mesmerizing mid tempo hip-hop feel, which allowed Aaliyah’s delicate vocals to take the spotlight. —Lauren Nostro

 

12. "Miss You" (2002)

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Album: I Care 4 U (2002)

Aaliyah mastered the art of longing. Considered not to be a "smash record" by her label, the song, written in '98 for her third album by Ginuwine, Johnta Austin, and Teddy Bishop, didn't come out until the release of Aaliyah's posthumous I Care 4 U. With her passing in a tragic plane crash in August, 2001, the song took on an entirely new meaning. The Darren Grant-directed video acted as a tribute to the fallen star and featured all of Aaliyah's friends and past collaborators including DMX, Static Major, Missy Elliott, and Lil Kim. All that aside, the song itself is a masterstroke in lovelorn yearning with Aaliyah spilling tears over a lost love. It made sense, then, that it was one of her last tracks, as it summed up the way her family, friends, and fans felt upon her passing. —Damien Scott 

 

11. "Hot Like Fire (Timbaland's Groove Mix)" (1997)

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Album: The One I Gave My Heart To / Hot Like Fire (1997)

No shade to the original version of "Hot Like Fire," but the "Timbaland's Groove Mix" was 10 times better. Everyone knew it—that's why it was chosen as Aaliyah's final single from One in a Million, while the album version was swept under the rug.

Timbaland presents another entrancing track, beatboxing Susanne Vega's "Tom's Diner," while Aaliyah brings her melodic voice and habitually sexy style. Aaliyah hums and moans promises to her new bae that his patience will be rewarded, which by today's standards may seem like a tease, but it's enough to keep him holding on and you dancing like it's 1996. —Shannon Marcec

 

10. "Are You Ready?" (1996)

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Album: Sunset Park Soundtrack (1996)

Aaliyah's debut album was a smash success, but the teen star's career seemed to be in a state of uncertainty in 1995, following the salacious revelation that she had married her mentor R. Kelly. The collaborations with Kells suddenly sounded creepy, and the momentum that Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number had built up screeched to a halt in the face of the controversy. Clearly, she would need to abandon her Svengali on her sophomore album, but how? No one had ever heard an Aaliyah song that R. Kelly didn't produce.

The first sign that Aaliyah would survive the scandal was "Are You Ready," her contribution to the Sunset Park soundtrack that was released in April 1996. Produced by Naughty By Nature's Kay Gee and written by Renne Neuville from Zhané, it's a low-key summertime party groove that lays a wistful jazz fusion guitar sample over head-nodding hip-hop drums. On the hook, she taunts all the critics who counted her out: "You know I'm comin' back—tell me if you're ready." The song was a minor radio hit for Aaliyah, but more importantly, it showed that she had a distinctive sound and an identity that was bigger than any one producer. —Brendan Frederick

 

9. "We Need a Resolution" f/ Timbaland (2001)

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Album: Aaliyah (2001)

For her third album, Aaliyah opted to reach beyond the duo-Timbo and Missy-that crafted her critically acclaimed second album. She reportedly wanted Trent Reznor to contribute to the project, but scheduling conflicts prohibited the two from working together. She instead worked with Blackground's crew of in-house producers, including Eric Seats and Rapture, for the majority of the album. However, one of the album's strongest cut, and lead single, came courtesy of Timothy Mosely. With a spiraling clarinet sample and a Tim's usual star-stop drums, the song shows a more grown and confident Aaliyah grappling with infidelity. On the low, the song features one of Baby Girl's strongest vocal performances and one of the Timbo's best (or, at least, most tolerable) guest verses.—Damien Scott 

 

8. "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (1994)

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Album: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number (1994)

It's not surprising that Aaliyah had an affinity for the Isley Brothers. R. Kelly, who wrote and produced her entire first album, is a self-proclaimed fan of the seminal R&B group. Released as the second single from Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, Aaliyah's cover of "At Your Best," a song written in dedication to the Isley Brothers' mother, was made more even more angelic by her wistful vocals. On an album full of edgy, hip-hop and new jack swing-inspired beats, the ballad was a nice departure that showed a young women on the cusp of adulthood. —Damien Scott 

 

7. "Try Again" f/ Timbaland (2000)

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Album: Romeo Must Die Soundtrack (2000)

Aaliyah had been out of the spotlight for almost two years when “Try Again” dropped, broke records, and became the only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 of her career. But “Try Again” was less about accolades, and more about her and Timbaland breaking boundaries again with a comeback single. Quoting Rakim’s “It’s been a long time/I shouldn’t have left you,” Timbaland kicks off the distorted, triumphant, acid-house-inspired track which served as the lead single off the Romeo Must Die: The Album soundtrack, which Aaliyah starred in.

“Try Again” was the first single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely off the strenght of radio airplay, and solidified Aaliyah as one of the most successful pop stars in the world. But Aaliyah, and Timbaland both knew they wanted to do more than recreate the bubblegum pop records of that era, and utilized a mixture of hip-hop, early electronic dance music of the ‘00s, and R&B to create massive hits, like “Try Again.” The production itself was a look into what was to come for Timbaland over the next decade, as well. —Lauren Nostro

6. "If Your Girl Only Knew" (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

This early Timbaland production might make you shoulder lean, but pay attention because Aaliyah's giving you fair warning: Just trying to holler is enough to get you in trouble with wifey.

"If Your Girl Only Knew," is an often overlooked single off 1996's One in a Million, but it reached 11 on the Billboard US Hot 100, making it Aaliyah's third single to break through the top 20. Numbers aside, for this banger, Baby Girl delivers her usual sweet yet haunting vocals over one of Timbaland's best beats. But it's arguably the lyrics, from Missy and Timbaland, that make this one of Aaliyah's hottest song. It's part ladies' anthem-I'm not going to help you cheat on you girl, part humble brag-I could have your man if I really wanted him.

And yes, that's the old (real) Lil' Kim making a cameo in the video. —Shannon Marcec

 

5. "4 Page Letter" (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

More than any other song she recorded, Aaliyah's "4 Page Letter" rewards patience. The fade in on the beat and Chappelle's Show opening ("Yo, turn my music up") is something of a farce in 2014 (though, with the artist gone, there's something undeniably important about hearing her speaking voice). Her enunciation asks that you linger on individual words she sings, when she finally begins to, thirty-some seconds into the song. The beat plods and shakes a lonely maraca line across the space of "4 Page Letter." Even that title suggests a long unfolding-four pages is time for a lot of reflection and longing. The other vocals, sounding so much like samples-the ooing, the wailing-are like ghosts. Timbaland's production is like a haunted maze you walk. And the final payoff you encounter, that languid synth line at nearly five minutes in, is so sticky and fine, you can't help but hit replay to find it again. —Ross Scarano

 

4. "Back and Forth" (1994)

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Album: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number (1994)

From the second she cooed "ooh, it's the L-I-Y-A-H" listeners couldn't tell whether Aaliyah was grown or just tryna be. Didn't matter. The lead single off her debut album, Age Aint Nuthin' But a Number-written and produced by (and featuring guest bars from) R. Kelly-was also Aaliyah's first number one, knocking Kellz's "Bump and Grind" from its 13-week perch on top of the R&B charts.

At the time, Aaliyah played coy with the media about her age and "Back & Forth" shows why she could. Instead of over-emoting like a child singer, Aaliyah's confident in singing about something basic—it's just a song about partying on a Friday night-and that takes an adult's restraint. In the video she's already armored in the tomboy style that would make her a Tommy Jeans model and icon to attitudinal girls everywhere. Seven months later Vibe published a copy of an Illinois marriage license purporting to show that Haughton was indeed married to her mentor, proving that in the music industry the word 'protégée' aint nothin' but a euphemism. —Elena Bergeron

 

3. "Rock the Boat" (2001)

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Album: Aaliyah (2001)

It's crazy to think that this record actually didn't get recorded for two years due to Aaliyah's label thinking that "Rock the Boat" was "too sensual" of a song for Aaliyah. Who else at that time could have "worked the middle" to this record better than Aaliyah?

"Rock the Boat" was so summertime fresh that it actually made the label reconsider its roll-out plan, pushing the video shoot to August to get the single out before the end of the summer. The end result was a thing of beauty, with tropical visuals properly matching the laid back vibe of the instrumental. Perfect percussive accents dwell around the chilled melodies. It's a thing of beauty, and a perfect swan song for Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in the Bahamas after this video was wrapped. —khal

 

2. "One in a Million" (1996)

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Album: One in a Million (1996)

That Timbaland sound that everyone was hype over in the late '90s? This was the track where we all heard him go off. That skittery drum work was left-field but undeniable, and was the perfect vibe to propel Aaliyah to the top of the R&B crop. Written by Missy Elliott and Timbaland, "One in a Million" showcased an unstoppable trio, with Aaliyah being a perfect muse for the futuristic vibes that Missy and Timbaland were creating, and truthfully helped change the game. No longer did your slow songs have to have slow drum beats; you could establish that vibe and throw as many fills and skittery hi-hats into the track and make it something unique instead of the flavor of the week (although being so future means that everyone was in demand). End of the day, it's hard to imagine that anyone else really rode these beats as perfectly as Aaliyah did. The perfect muse, indeed. —khal

 

1. "Are You That Somebody?" f/ Timbaland (1998)

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Album: Dr. Dolittle Soundtrack (1998)

Aaliyah's oeuvre was an exercise in self-awareness. Her first two albums carefully toed the line between adolescence and adulthood, displaying a woman exploring the terrain of love, trust, and lust; one who exuded a playful innocence while hinting at a more sultry side. Her crowning achievement, a collaboration between her, Timbaland, and Static Major, "Are You That Somebody," would capture all of that perfectly. "Sometimes I'm goody goody, right now I'm naughty naughty," she sang in her light breeze of a voice.

No one producer working in the '90s pushed R&B to its limits quite like Timbaland. Here, he honed in on his patented eccentricities and delivered a claptrap of a beat with stuttering guitar licks and percussion consisting of deft beatboxing. There's also a sample of a baby (taken from Perrey and Kingsley's "Countdown at 6") that manages to worm its way into your head. It all sounds like too much for one person, let alone someone as vocally demur as Aaliyah, to tackle. But she fares more than well, pacing herself perfectly along with the clicks and ticks; licks and infant laughs.

To many, Aaliyah was nothing more than a vessel for her producers. But here, on this track that managed to only hit No. 21 on the Hot 100, she was every bit a part of the process as her masterful producers and songwriters. It was Aaliyah her most self-aware-as an artist and an individual. It was Aaliyah at her most Aaliyah. —Damien Scott 

 

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