Almost every story about Aaliyah, even long after her death, is hardly separable from the “scandal” involving R. Kelly.
Rumors of their secret marriage turned out to be accurate, as shown by court records of their illegal wedding ceremony in 1994.
Aaliyah was only 15 at that time, while Kelly was 27. Despite the evidence, they kept denying it ever happened; either way, the marriage was annulled.
Ever since Aaliyah died in 2001, stories from her family and friends about how Kelly had abused her throughout the relationship began to surface.
With the widespread recognition of the “Me Too” movement, mentioning the two singers has always sparked an outrage.
The untimely death of a star has a powerful effect on fans and society at large.
Given the mystery surrounding her stardom status and how she rose to fame, Aaliyah will be forever remembered as both a capable artist and a victim of abuse. Even details about her death have been found somewhat unclear.
She died in a plane crash, but whether or not she willingly boarded the plane remains an unanswered question.
10 /10 Cessna 402 Crash
Aaliyah had just done filming the music video for “Rock the Boat” on August 25, 2001, in the Bahamas. She and her crew planned to return to the U.S. the following day.
Since the filming had finished earlier than they expected, it wouldn’t be a problem to fly back to Miami sooner than later.
The plane crashed after boarding a Cessna 402 at the Marsh Harbour Airport on Abaco Islands.
The pilot and all eight passengers, including Aaliyah, were killed.
9 /10 Age Ain't Nothing But A Number
Throughout her short career, Aaliyah was known as one of the most musically-futuristic artists in the pop and R&B genres.
Some argue that Aaliyah’s 2001 self-titled album sounds pretty much like the future even now.
Until August 2021, however, only her debut studio album “Age Ain’t Nothing, but a Number” was available to stream.
It was released in 1994 when Aaliyah was only 15-years-old, and the producer was none other than R. Kelly.
Listening to the album means sending royalties to her alleged abuser.