Aaliyah (album)
| Aaliyah | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Aaliyah | ||||
| Released | July 7, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 – March 2001 | |||
| Studio | Manhattan Center Studios, Soundtracks Studios, and Sony Studios in New York; Magic Mix Studios, Music Grinder Studios, and Westlake Studios in Los Angeles; Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne | |||
| Genre | R&B, neo soul, pop, dance-pop | |||
| Length | 61:10 | |||
| Label | Blackground, Virgin America | |||
| Producer | Aaliyah (exec.), Barry Hankerson (exec.), Bud'da, Eric Seats, J. Dub, Jomo Hankerson (exec.), Rapture, Timbaland | |||
| Aaliyah chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Aaliyah | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| The Guardian | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| The New Zealand Herald | |
| NME | 7/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 8/10 |
Aaliyah is the third and final studio album by American R&B singer Aaliyah. It was released on July 7, 2001, by Blackground Records and Virgin Records America. After raising her profile with hit soundtrack singles during the late 1990s, Aaliyah started to work on the album in 1998, but rescheduled its recording around her developing film career. She resumed recording the record in 2000 at Sing Sing Studios in Australia, where she shot her role for the 2002 film Queen of the Damned during the day and recorded songs at night. Aaliyah worked primarily with Blackground's in-house crew of writers and producers, including Bud'da, J. Dub, Rapture, and Eric Seats, as well as longtime collaborator Timbaland.
Aaliyah is an R&B and neo soul record with music drawing from funk, hip hop, alternative rock, and electronica, among other styles. The producers incorporated synthesizer melodies, fragmented beats, distorted guitar, and eccentrically manipulated vocals and song structures. Much of Aaliyah dealt with the complexities of romantic love and different stages in a relationship. Most of the songs were written by lyricist Static Major, who shared a close friendship and strong rapport with Aaliyah. She viewed the album as a reflection of herself as both a young adult and a matured vocalist.
Aaliyah received highly positive reviews from critics and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, but sold diminishingly afterwards. When Blackground and Virgin wanted a high charting single to increase the album's sales, Aaliyah shot a music video for the song "Rock the Boat" in the Bahamas, but died in a plane crash on a return flight to the United States on August 25, 2001. After her death, sales of the album skyrocketed and propelled it to number one on the Billboard 200. Aaliyah was released during a period of peak activity in contemporary R&B and, since its initial reception, has been cited by critics as one of the best R&B records of its time.
...
Wikipedia