only thing Aaliyah did better than ashanti was dance. and that's by default.
ashanti came out & immediately passed Aaliyah's entire legacy with her debut. she even outsold Aaliyah's death.
And again, you're wrong. Ashanti didn't surpass Aaliyah's legacy because Ashanti didn't have one. Her label dubbed her "Princess of R&B" during the promo of her album. Same title that was attributed to Aaliyah during promo of her albums while she was alive. It was a pretty premature title given that it was downhill after her debut.