Rest In Peace, Baby Girl

I remember it so clearly. I was in my dorm room unpacking. I had just come back to SU for the start of my junior year. My television was still sitting on the floor, rather than on my "Yaffa Block" stand. I had the TV on mute, but the radio was blasting since my roommate hadn't arrived yet. (I know I have that bad!). Around 9 p.m. or so, I looked at the screen and images of Aaliyah were flashing. I had it on CNN. Around that time, you couldn't find that many of us on, so I immediately turned the volume up. I could feel something pulling at my heart so I'd already begun praying that it wasn't anything catastrophic.

And it was. She was dead. A plane crash. Right after leaving the video shoot for "Rock the Boat." That hurt. Aaliyah? I was so excited to hear on 106 & Park (the Wonder Years) that she was shooting the video for that song. It was THE song on the album. She was so mature now. She'd gone from singing about a "Four Page Letter" to getting it on (who knew it was with Dame Dash though??) and loving it. Every time Aaliyah came out, it was something new and refreshing. She actually danced, instead of shaking her ass. She exuded sex appeal, but in a sweet, innocent way. I just read a Facebook status that said, "Rest in peace, Aaliyah. Beyonce' who?"

I had all off her stuff. Besides the old Jodeci material, Aaliyah was one of the first artists to showcase Timbaland's genius production (think "One In a Million"). She was the first skinny, tall girl I'd seen around my age who could sing and had a quirky sense of style.

When they released the video for "I Miss You", I sat on my parents' bed and cried. Like hard. I've never been the best with death. The same question floats around in my head when someone dies: What if......? I often wonder, if they plane had landed, where would women be in music? How much more could Aaliyah's career and life have flourished? Would Missy and Tim still be making beats together? I wonder.

Rest in peace, Aaliyah.