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Birthday: January 16, 1979
Sign: Capricorn
Home: Detroit, MI
CDs: Age Ain't Nothing But A Number /Blackground/
One In A Million /Atlantic/
Gladys
Knight's troupe in Las Vegas. Nicknamed,
"Liyah," Aaliyah just graduated from the
Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts
(June, '97). With 2 hit LPs by the time she was 18
years old, Aaliyah has already established herself as
an up-and-coming r&b force.
After a childhood of
intermittent performances including Star Search and
TV pilots, Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson (Gladys
Knight's ex-husband) introduced Aaliyah to a
performer he was managing, R. Kelly.
The meeting resulted in R. Kelly producing Aaliyah's
debut LP,
Age Ain't Nothing
But A Number
. The LP was released in 1994
and gave Aaliyah 2 Top 5 pop hits: "Back And
Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are
Love)." R. Kelly wrote all the songs on the LP
(except "At Your Best (You Are Love). As
Aaliyah's star began to rise, rumors surfaced about a
possible marriage between 15 year-old Aaliyah and 25+
R. Kelly. The rumor was never confirmed or denied.
Aaliyah's alliance with
R. Kelly was not present on her second LP released in
1996,
One In A Million
. The LP gave Aaliyah
another Top 10 pop hit with "If Your Girl Only
Knew" as well as the hits "One In A
Million" and "4 Page Letter." Another
track on the LP is a remake of Marvin Gaye's
"Got To Give It Up." Aaliyah extended her
reputation for sultry, street-wise sounds and videos.
Aaliyah's
future will undoubtedly include music, but she
herself has mentioned college and acting as future
ambitions as well.