Aaliyah
One In A Million

Advisory: Primarily Uterine Disco

Perhaps many users of DeBaser know her as Akasha - “Queen Of The Damned” - the movie of the same name, and they would struggle to believe that in another life, she was baptized under the name Aaliyah - pronounced Ah-Lee-Yah in Swahili, The Most Noble Star -. Aaliyah Dana Haughton: love rider, love singer... (as inspired by the images inside the flyer).

Just juxtapose the two (official) otherworldly existences and extract class, charisma, and sensuality to render the entity earthly: the voice. Fifteen-year-old princess bride, she already goes to school from the master Pygmalion producer, her unfaithful spouse, who is ten years older, R Kelly. Prince of the "New Jill Swing" of the '90s. A school with a strong social component since the girl already learns the customs and habits of the planet Mars; the said, the unspoken, the presumed, the art of disappearing and returning at the least appropriate moments… After the bond with Kelly ends, she turns to the then-semi-unknown producers Timbaland and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott (Aaliyah simply ahead in style) working on her second debut-adventure released in 1996.

So wake up… already from the intro the lady with her partners announces that she possesses the right “Beats 4 Da Streets” with a nod to the Sugarhill Gang… “Hot Like Fire” is urban-funk in its raw state with the grime underneath and the godfathers always stoking the fire… the title track “One In A Million” is comparable to the effect of a field of orchids, under the reverberation of the sunset; unique among a million, light-years apart communicating from two different planets but having the same map to indicate the milky way. In pure style “I Must Confess”… “A Girl Like You” hosts the fresco of MC Treach (Naughty By Nature ed. note also composers) on the sample of “Summer Madness” by Kool & The Gang. “If Your Girl Only Knew” manifests the discomfort of being too attracted to the boyfriend or married lover, but “aware” of his precariousness…
“Choosey Lover (Old School/New School)” arrives as a response to the previous rondo with extra smooth base introduced by Michael J. Powell's guitar solo to underline the electricity of the news of being chosen by HIM! So let's thank him in new and old style having the superlative Isley Brothers (here producers) as support.

“Got To Give It Up” (by Marvin Gaye) in fresh to def version with the participation of Slick Rick devastates every party it encounters, thanks to Vincent Herbert’s adaptation. “4 Page Letter” is introduced in a low voice; as when you receive a letter that you read quietly, fearing others might hear the same concept put on paper and sent; it maintains a certain apoplexy of panic due to the waiting for any response, any reaction it will create in the recipient, especially when it arrives at that fourth page. “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”, conceived by Japhe Tejeda and Rodney Jerkins, lets you breathe optimism for happy events, in other words: “come on, we'll get through it anyway…” “Giving You More”, produced by J. Dibbs, is seductive and strong, rhythm and blues, the minimalist base acts as the carpet to the bursts of phrases and romantic pauses, where Aaliyah remains suspended, still loves too much, having become his slave by now... “I Gotcha’ Back”, conceived by Jermaine Dupri and Carl-So-Lowe. It reveals the secret of her success with men and explains: it’s not what I say, but how I say it (sublimely translated: it’s not the words I sing but how I sing them). We move on to “Never Givin’ Up” created by Craig King and Monica Payne. Here the magic of sounds joins the husky voice of Tavarius Polk. The confessions of one's feelings take root, with Cupid standing until dawn soldering arrows...

“Heartbroken” has a well-paced, crackling, severe yet sensitive flavor... The aftertaste, however, is very bitter because it recounts when one is left, that he ran away. It’s bitter like the taste of two tears that stream down the face, flowing over the cheeks, performing acrobatics, embroidery around the ear, then precipitating down the neck, they seem like caresses, but the wide-open eyes betray the course of events inside; a hungry malaise and the fixed thought in the mind: you said what you meant to kill me and since that day I wished never to kill anyone again. “Never Comin’ Back” sounds like a symbol of peace and solidarity among ladies… “Ladies In Da House” embraces the primordial beats of Timba and the flow of Missy, opening a season full of parties for the girls who need to recover and let loose... “The One I Gave My Heart To” is a soul ballad written by Diane Warren. Simple and slow, sad and nostalgic... Finally, the outro, “Came To Give Love”, passes by like a swarm of butterflies beating their wings, carrying the voice of Timba and Aaliyah's voice, who bids us farewell... forever... R.I.P. January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001