Remembering Aaliyah On Her 31st Birthday

“Everything is worth it. The hard work, the times when you’re tired, the times where you`re a bit sad…in the end, it`s all worth it because it really makes me happy. There’s nothing better than loving what you do.”

The combination of death and time is difficult to understand and even more difficult to place in context. Death, being the hardest part of life for those who loved the deceased, is only healed by time. Yet and still, whenever an anniversary approaches each year, it is always met with astonishment that so much time has elapsed since that person passed away. This is one of those times.

Today is Aaliyah‘s birthday (Sade‘s as well). Had the legendary, insanely beautiful songstress survived her August 2001 plane crash, she would have been 31 years old. It’s difficult to imagine how much more she could have accomplished, but the thoughts are nothing short of breathtaking. She accomplished so much at such an early age. In a lot of cases, a burnout is imminent, but her music barely an eerily resemblance to wine. It grew better with age.

Today, Alicia Keys and Beyonce’ are considered the creme de la creme when it comes to female performers in the R&B realm. With her music, her personality and her acting prowess, Aaliyah surely would have been the first to crossover to this plateau. She was the first artist for the 2000′s to reach that level of success. And she handled it the same way her she handles her entire career, with elegance and poise. Thirty-one is still a young age in all walks of life. That can’t be stressed enough.

It’s beautiful and depressing at the same time to ponder what Miss Haughton‘s career and legacy would have and should have amounted to. So many classics yet to be recorded and so many more awards to attain. It’s just crazy it’s been damn near nine years since music lost an icon and heaven gained angel.