Our Gothic Aaliyah refix dropped yesterday, so we thought this would be a good time to run through our top 5 Aaliyah tunes. Aaliyah truly was one in million, she had the voice, the moves and the talent that a lot of artists have not managed to come close to. Her style was effortless, whether she was kickin it in some baggy jeans and simple vest or being sultry and sexy in fitted leather trousers and bikini top, she was the girl that the girls wanted to be and that guys wanted to be with. We have a lot of love for Aaliyah, here are our top 5 selections from the star who was taken too soon.
Back & Forth featuring R Kelly
Back & Forth is probably the first Aaliyah tune that we fell in love with, its a definite party tune that always gets us in the mood for the weekend. It was written by R Kelly (who Aaliyah was rumoured to be married to at the time) and the pied piper even raps a few bars between shooting hoops in the video.
Hot Like Fire
Hot Like Fire is one of those tunes that just grabs you, Aaliyahs’s vocals are so silky smooth and with Timbo on the buttons and Missy on lyrics these three were like the RnB dream team. This tune often features in our sets and was tune we chose to define our warm up sets in our Taste of HDD Mix
As fans of both Aaliyah and Slick Rick this one had to be included in our top 5 it’s the duo’s take on the Marvin Gaye classic and was on Aaliyah’s One In a Million album. We love how Slick Rick references another Aaliyah cover (this time the Isley Brothers’ At Your Best) in his verse ‘love that song where you say that line about, you’re a positive motivating force within my life’
Back in One Piece featuring DMX
Aaliyah was a little bit of a tomboy, always with the guys, she understood them but also had a softer side, and DMX was the original Ruff Ryder. This tune plays to their personalities perfectly with Aaliyah understanding that her man needs to be in the streets but worrying at the same time, and DMX defending himself with his ride or die attitude while she pleads with him to be careful and make it back in one piece. Back in One Piece featured on the soundtrack of Romeo Must Die, which stars both Aaliyah and DMX, the chemistry between the pair in this tune is pretty amazing (we even included it in our Fluffy Warm Up Mix ).
More Than A Woman
More Than a Woman was the third single from Aaliyah’s self titled and last studio album, it was difficult to pick our favourite tune from this album as there were so many hits on there – we could have done a top 5 from that album alone! The hit was produced by Timbaland and written by Static Major (who also wrote Are You That Somebody, Try Again, We Need a Resolution and Rock The Boat) and its Timbo’s clever sampling combined with Aaliyah’s vocal range that makes this one a winner. Look out for cameos from Mark Ronson and Rashida Jones in the video.
