If Aaliyah was still here, do you think she would be the best female artist in R&B/Pop right now?

[Roovers410]

Aaliyah was like the perfect woman to me. Her voice was like an angel. Everything about her was great. And her music was timeless. still bumpin her albums alot

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

1) u reaching.....someone mentioned Xscape doing baggy clothes too....Xscape was out before Aaliyah. TLC and Xscape do baggy clothes before Aaliyah and u hinting at Aaliyahs impact towards a fad done over 2 years before she comes out is reaching.


2) u doing that same coulda, woulda bs that op did making up shyt about what would b if she was still alive...Again...someone already mentioned her death didn't outsell DC in 2001 so there's that.

Xscape debut album fall of 93, Aaliyah in spring 94...they weren't that far apart, but Aaliyah in the tommy sports bras and baggy pants was much more influential than xscape in combat boots and plaid, mary j blige brought that look to the female scene in 91/92 (influenced by puff/uptown/jodeci).

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I'll take the last word. The day before Aaliyah died she was bigger than Brandy and had more hits and was starring in box office movies which Brandy couldn't do anymore.

Brandy was never in box office movies...ehh, maybe if you consider I know what you did last summer, but she was a tv star. And that's the exact point people made early in the thread, Aaliyah would be on he ll cool j/queen latifah acting steeze, she wouldn't be dominating charts.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I don't know if these guys were even around back then with half the things I'm reading. The song you posted above was a huge hit & was attached to the Romeo Must Die soundtrack with Jet Li & that movie was a success. DMX & Anthony Anderson both were in it. She died before finishing Queen of the Damned I believe but Aaliyah was a major star when she was alive. Everyone who was around back then knows Beyonce slid in that lane with Aaliyah's passing.

Lol @ that. Beyonce didn't need Aaliyah to die for her to ascend, bey was the standout star of destiny child since their first album, and definitely since their second. Bey easily ran ahead of peers like Ashanti, and whatever other chicks came out in the early 00's, Alicia keys was the only one running neck to neck with her until about 08.

 

[Knicksman20]

I can always can count on you to come through with the real. Yeah, either some of these nikkas won't born yet or either too young to remember but that song was a huge hit and Aaliyah was just started to cross over by the time she started acting.

nikkas fail to realize, Beyonce came out in 98', in 2001 Aaliyah was already a star and by 2003 Beyonce' was then a solo star just breaking out. Just look back at that interview I posted on the 1st page of this thread where Beyonce is INTERVIEWING Aaliyah on the red carpet of the MTV Music Awards. Bey would later hit it big in 03' as a SOLO star but just 2 years before that, Aaliyah was well on her way and just starting to blossom evne more. So imagine if Aaliyah was still alive after doing her movies and with more music on the away 2 years later. She was really just getting started with really taking over and getting even bigger as an artist when you really think about.

In the 90's, competition was stiff. I'm talking bout the early to mid 90's. Aaaliyah held her own and by the turn of the new millennium was still in demand and growing as an artist from singing to acting. There's not a doubt in my mind that she would be the biggest female artist in R&B and Pop right now.

She'd be in her late 30's now but ain't Bey in her mid to late 30's right now and the biggest name in music? Aaaliyah would've owned this last decade IMO

Exactly. You & me both were around back then & saw things play out as well as heard the music from both while it was being released. Aaliyah had that lane & was solidifying that position in the early 2000's. This got a lot of airplay too & again it was apart of the Romeo Must Die soundtrack

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

She'd be in her late 30's now but ain't Bey in her mid to late 30's right now and the biggest name in music? Aaaliyah would've owned this last decade IMO

No,she wouldn't have. Nothing about Aaliyah's voice or performances point to that level of longevity musically. That Timbaland/missy sound literally saved her career, y'all really forget how brandy snatched the entire teen singer spotlight with her debut, Aaliyah was nothing more than a r Kelly scandal with a classic party hit until she got with Timbaland and dropped ONIAM on 96. I don't know how y'all look at Aaliyah objectively and think she'd be the one to buck the conventional wisdom and still be smashing charts in 2016 when her peers who were just as big or bigger are now niche artists that get a listen or two from us who grew up on them.

Beyonce is big for multiple reasons including her appeal to everyone from 4 to 84 years old, Aaliyah's music nor performances ever captured that level of attention.

 

[Knicksman20]

Lol @ that. Beyonce didn't need Aaliyah to die for her to ascend, bey was the standout star of destiny child since their first album, and definitely since their second. Bey easily ran ahead of peers like Ashanti, and whatever other chicks came out in the early 00's, Alicia keys was the only one running neck to neck with her until about 08.

Yes she did. I saw these things play out first hand as ayoung adult & not over the internet. Aaliyah was already getting major roles in movies & really started to establish her brand. She was with Dame Dash & the Roc was huge back then. He relationships with Timbaland & Missy too. She was laying her foundation back then & her dying really opened things up for Beyonce.

 

[DANJ!]

I love Aaliyah to death, but some of y'all are turning this into the "Tupac and Biggie would still be on top today and none of these rappers would even be allowed in a studio" argument... there isn't one era in music where one artist's existence or success completely prevented another's. It's convenient to believe that Aaliyah would've been the biggest thing going now had she lived... but there's alot of artists from that era who were huge at a particular point who are still alive and not making any hits.

 

[theflyest]

When you have top 5 and #1 singles in the Hot 100, it's clearly not 'too black', it's broken in on the pop side. We ain't talkin' about Jill Scott. Aaliyah wasn't just hitting on the R&B charts, she had big pop hits and was a TRL favorite.

Far as this Aaliyah/Brandy/Monica debate, I don't know how/why anyone thinks she left them in the dust when it came to hits.

Aaliyah: Back & Forth, At Your Best, Age Ain't Nothin, One In A Million, If Your Girl Only Knew, 4 Page Letter, Are You That Somebody, Try Again
Monica: Dont Take It Personal, Before You Walk Out of My Life, Why I Love You So Much, For You I Will, First Night, Boy Is Mine, Angel Of Mine
Brandy: Wanna Be Down, Baby, Best Friend, Brokenhearted, Sittin Up In My Room, Boy Is Mine, Sittin On Top..., Have You Ever...

They were running neck-and-neck between '94-'01, all had #1s, all were going platinum or better... it was no landslide win for any one of them... and if anyone takes it, it's Brandy because in addition to that she was doing TV and movies during those years as well.

I am responding to the thread title, which is asking would she be the "best" female artist right now in r&b/pop, as in 2016. You are bringing up her success in the 90s, when R&B was much more relevant & acceptable to the mainstream.

Aaliyah was not a pop artist. Pop success? Sure but her lane was R&B. The reality is she could have changed her entire musical approach throughout the years, but we will never know.

I still don't think no one can do what Beyonce does. I'm not a fan at all, but give her credit for getting to that spot.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Yes she did. I saw these things play out first hand as ayoung adult & not over the internet. Aaliyah was already getting major roles in movies & really started to establish her brand. She was with Dame Dash & the Roc was huge back then. He relationships with Timbaland & Missy too. She was laying her foundation back then & her dying really opened things up for Beyonce.

Lol @ you saw these play out. nikka I did too, and as a black female - the CORE fanbase for these women - i remember exactly how things were unfolding. Beyonce was given that damn Carmen movie on mtv, solo features and placements on soundtracks, everyone knew beyonce was the MJ of DC. Look at all of beys peers and the women she lapped, Aaliyah was not in her way. The fact you even think that is stupid as they were peers in an era before this "there can only be one" mentality existed, worst case is they're both on top (the way bey and alicia keys were from 04-08)

Aaliyah was never getting a Super Bowl performance
Aaliyah was never performing at inauguration or the White House
Aaliyah was never debuting a visual album on HBO
Aaliyah was never headlining a 16 month 132 stop tour

Aaliyah did not have the talent bey has to reach where bey has musically...we can argue all day about her acting career may have went, but I've said it all in this thread, Aaliyah is not the chick who was going to defy the odds of a limited run.

 

[I love Latina women]

No,she wouldn't have. Nothing about Aaliyah's voice or performances point to that level of longevity musically. That Timbaland/missy sound literally saved her career, y'all really forget how brandy snatched the entire teen singer spotlight with her debut, Aaliyah was nothing more than a r Kelly scandal with a classic party hit until she got with Timbaland and dropped ONIAM on 96. I don't know how y'all look at Aaliyah objectively and think she'd be the one to buck the conventional wisdom and still be smashing charts in 2016 when her peers who were just as big or bigger are now niche artists that get a listen or two from us who grew up on them.

Beyonce is big for multiple reasons including her appeal to everyone from 4 to 84 years old, Aaliyah's music nor performances ever captured that level of attention.

nikka, calm down and put some respect on her name!

Timbaland and Missy did help her career a tremendous amount. No denying that.

But to sit here and short change her like she was some run of the mill artist is wrong.

Nobody thought in a million years BEYONCE' of all bytches would be the 1 "bucking the convential wisdom and still be smashing the charts in 2016" back in the late 90's. But let nikkas tell it today who been listening to her for the last few years, they'd swear up and down she was always gonna be the "Queen B" [/QUOTE]

 

[DANJ!]

I am responding to the thread title, which is asking would she be the "best" female artist right now in r&b/pop, as in 2016. You are bringing up her success in the 90s, when R&B was much more relevant & acceptable to the mainstream.

Aaliyah was not a pop artist. Pop success? Sure but her lane was R&B. The reality is she could have changed her entire musical approach throughout the years, but we will never know.

R&B itself in that era was just as big as the pop music was, is what I'm saying. It wasn't pushed in one corner, where it was only getting played on urban stations. Hip-hop and R&B was dominating to the point where you could turn on the TV or radio at any time of the day and see/hear it. So that's why I said Aaliyah was basically just as much a pop star as she was an R&B star.

 

[Still Benefited]

Yll need to get off Brandy not being in movies,we all know there are different reasons for that in Hollywood....that shouldnt be held against her.

I can always can count on you to come through with the real. Yeah, either some of these nikkas won't born yet or either too young to remember but that song was a huge hit and Aaliyah was just started to cross over by the time she started acting.

nikkas fail to realize, Beyonce came out in 98', in 2001 Aaliyah was already a star and by 2003 Beyonce' was then a solo star just breaking out. Just look back at that interview I posted on the 1st page of this thread where Beyonce is INTERVIEWING Aaliyah on the red carpet of the MTV Music Awards. Bey would later hit it big in 03' as a SOLO star but just 2 years before that, Aaliyah was well on her way and just starting to blossom evne more. So imagine if Aaliyah was still alive after doing her movies and with more music on the away 2 years later. She was really just getting started with really taking over and getting even bigger as an artist when you really think about.

In the 90's, competition was stiff. I'm talking bout the early to mid 90's. Aaaliyah held her own and by the turn of the new millennium was still in demand and growing as an artist from singing to acting. There's not a doubt in my mind that she would be the biggest female artist in R&B and Pop right now.

She'd be in her late 30's now but ain't Bey in her mid to late 30's right now and the biggest name in music? Aaaliyah would've owned this last decade IMO

I dont know breh,you cant just say that like its nothing.....somebody mentioned LL and Queen Latifah on the acting side....but they acting careers became bigger then they music careers....so thats a real danger in music,i actually feel like Aaliyah was in that same zone where she was in danger of being seen as a actress more than a singer.

So you cant just say movies wouldve made her a bigger music star when usually it has the opposite effect....i like aaliyah more than Beyonce but i dont know if she wouldve owned the last decade

Her and beyonce both are pretty much creations of great songwriters and producers(beyonce more than aaliyah).....Beyonce and her team play the politics game very well,if Aaliyah wasnt playing it too,its safe to say she would be same place other 90s female artist are

Beyonce and her team are masterful,u think she running the game this long by talent and chance alone?

 

[I love Latina women]

Exactly. You & me both were around back then & saw things play out as well as heard the music from both while it was being released. Aaliyah had that lane & was solidifying that position in the early 2000's. This got a lot of airplay too & again it was apart of the Romeo Must Die soundtrack

Yeah, I done got tired of listening and paying attention to trolls and clown ass nikkas who have no idea what they really talking bout. Then again, in some ways it's funny too me, lol

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

...

By 99 we knew bey would be solo, when she dropped in 03 we knew she was gonna be huge, and when she had one album dominate from 06-08, it was clear it was her world....Aaliyah was popular but never pulled to the front of her pack they way bey did. EVERY SINGLE release from 98-06 put beyonce another step ahead, Aaliyah moved ahead with one and a million and was at the same place with the Aaliyah album