The video became the most played across networks like MTV, The Box, and BET in a relatively short amount of time. It was mainly because of everything happening all at once, musically and visually. The beat, the lyrics, the dancing, the costumes, the “baby in the background” as Mad Skillz says on the remix, and, of course, Aaliyah. To think, this song might have never happened had Barry Hankerson not pretended prematurely that it had. “We came through before the night ended,” Timbaland recalled in 2017. “And we came through, boy.”
At the 1999 Grammys the following year, Aaliyah was nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance, but she lost to Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” off The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which swept the Grammys that year.
The landscape of hip-hop and R&B was dramatically different from when Aaliyah had first started. Lauryn Hill was at the top of her solo game in 1998, dominating in both worlds of rapping and singing, while also becoming a commercial smash. Likewise, there were plenty of other acts moving through the pipeline. The staple stars like Mariah Carey, Usher, Faith Evans, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston were actively releasing projects and singles during the 1998–1999 season, along with Aaliyah’s earliest competition—Brandy and Monica, who tag teamed on the massive hit “The Boy Is Mine.” Jennifer Lopez flipped the switch from acting to singing, releasing her debut single, “If You Had My Love,” as newer artists like Mýa were entering the scene, along with Erykah Badu, whose entry came in 1997 thanks to her artistically eccentric debut, Baduizm. Even Ginuwine released his hit single “So Anxious” during that time period, as R. Kelly was knee-deep in his redemption tour, collaborating with Celine Dion on “I’m Your Angel” in 1998 and “If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time” in 1999. He also collaborated with Puffy on the single “Satisfy You.” A lot was happening at once in music.
However, this was also the era where R&B groups came back into formation. Dru Hill, Total, 112, even BLACKstreet were climbing up the charts, though this was also the moment when Destiny’s Child was coming into focus. Their self-titled debut album dropped in 1998, and as fast as that arrived, so did 1999’s The Writing’s on the Wall. This was the album that would bring the group into stardom. Missy Elliott is featured on the project (on the song “Confessions,” which she co-wrote and coproduced). She and Timbaland also wrote and produced the track “Get on the Bus,” off the Why Do Fools Fall in Love soundtrack, later added to the international release of The Writing’s on the Wall. Aaliyah choreographed Destiny’s Child’s music video for “Get on the Bus.” It’s not to say that this group or any other artists were a direct threat or competition to Aaliyah, but there was more traffic in her lane now. Further, by 1999, it had been three years since One in a Million was released.
Meanwhile, her team was diversifying their respective portfolios. Missy and Tim were on the aforementioned Destiny’s Child project, while also moving further into their artistry as actual recording artists. In 1997, Missy released her debut album, Supa Dupa Fly, which altered her course in music. Debuting at Number Three on the Billboard 200, the project showed that Missy could not only craft hits for others (mainly Aaliyah), but she could also give herself some real hits. Her style was abstract, melding together hip-hop and R&B in almost a Warhol-esque way. Aaliyah supported with a feature on the album cut “Best Friends.” In 1999, Missy followed with Da Real World, where Aaliyah appeared on “Stickin’ Chickens” with Da Brat. Both projects were produced entirely by Timbaland. Missy released the projects on her own vanity label, The Goldmind Inc. Goldmind was the imprint Missy secured when she signed with Elektra, as CEO Sylvia Rhone not only wanted Missy on the label, but she also wanted her to find more talent. Missy’s artist Nicole Wray released her debut album, Make It Hot, under Goldmind, with the title track produced by Timbaland. Everyone from Aaliyah to Ginuwine, Timbaland, and Playa were in the title track’s music video.
Timbaland, in turn, released his first project with Magoo, Welcome to Our World, in 1997 through Blackground. Aaliyah sang the hook to the project’s first single, “Up Jumps da Boogie” (also featuring Missy), while also collaborating with them on the album cut “Man Undercover.” She also appears in the videos for “Up Jumps da Boogie” and “Luv 2 Luv U.” Timbaland’s solo album Tim’s Bio: Life from da Bassment dropped in 1998, with Aaliyah and Missy on the song “John Blaze.”
Playa’s aforementioned Cheers 2 U came in 1998, and Aaliyah guested on that project as well, on the song “One Man Woman.” She appeared on Ginuwine’s song “Final Warning” off his 1999 album, 100% Ginuwine.
Aaliyah was spreading her own wings beyond her core team, as well. In 1997, she jumped on a remix for Brooklyn rap outfit Boot Camp Clik’s “Night Riders.” Boot Camp Clik was the quintessential nineties boom-bap-rap crew, and Aaliyah’s appearance on their song was a big move in combining the worlds of mainstream R&B and street-leaning independent hip-hop. Initially, Aaliyah was slated to be on the original single release, but by ’97 her career was on fire, and so was her schedule, so the song was released without her. She kept her promise, though, and hopped on the remix. “I wrote that hook with her in mind, with a real soulful vibe,” rapper and Boot Camp de facto leader Buckshot remembers. “When I put that track together, people thought I was crazy. It was the first time Boot Camp was going outside of what people knew Boot Camp was—these hard, street dudes, wearing Timbs in the streets in fatigues. Now we’re doing a track with Aaliyah and a guitar in the background.” Aaliyah was the cousin of Boot Camp Clik member Tek (of the group Smif-N-Wessun), which is how the opportunity came about. The remix was produced by Grammy Award–winning producer 9th Wonder. “She went in and she did it on the first try, and that was it,” Buckshot continues about working with her in the studio. “Great singers are like that.”
Aaliyah then collaborated with Nas on his song “You Won’t See Me Tonight,” off his 1999 project, I Am… She also grabbed some more soundtrack spots that same year with the song “Turn the Page” from the Music of the Heart soundtrack, along with the song “I Don’t Wanna,” which first appeared on the Next Friday soundtrack at the end of 1999 and appears again on the Romeo Must Die soundtrack in 2000. The latter track was perhaps one of the slicker business moves pulled by Barry Hankerson, whose reputation was continuously growing as the most difficult part about working with Aaliyah. Family and business were beginning to mix and get muddy.
The track “I Don’t Wanna” was written and composed by a team, including Jazze Pha, Johntá Austin, Kevin Hicks, and Donnie Scantz. Hicks and Scantz also produced the song. When the opportunity to work with Aaliyah presented itself, a company called Noontime Music jumped into the race and met with Blackground in New York. They had several songs to “audition” for Hankerson & Co.; “I Don’t Wanna” was one of them. Scantz, a relatively unknown producer, was left behind in Atlanta, yet put together the song before the NYC trip. He was working back at the company headquarters with another Blackground artist and songwriter, Tank. “Nobody knew who did the track,” Scantz remembers. “I get a call while I’m in Atlanta with Tank. They loved the joint.”
Johntá Austin joined in to write the first verse, Jazze Pha the second verse. The following day after recording “I Don’t Wanna,” Jazze cut another track, “Come Over,” with Aaliyah, which was given to the group Changing Faces instead, with Aaliyah’s version released after her passing. “That was the most angelic and effortless piece of work I have ever done, and it wasn’t even work,” Jazze told Ed Lover on his C’mon Son! show in 2016. Jazze described working with her as “magical,” with some setbacks. “You know how God works, and the devil is always right there,” Jazze continued. “I ain’t gonna say no names, but somebody almost messed up the whole shit.” Per Jazze, Aaliyah’s mother, Diane, was there in the studio with them and everyone was talking for hours like old friends. “When Aaliyah comes in, she nicknames everybody. She called me Fuzzy, because ‘every time I see you I get warm and fuzzy,’ ” Jazze says. In the midst of the banter, one of the st
udio workers interrupts Diane’s speaking to remind everyone that it’s time to get to work. “Her mom got up and walked out of the room. Then, Aaliyah’s phone rang, and she got up and walked out of the room. Two hours later, neither one of them was there.” Jazze called Jomo, met with him, and apologized to Diane. “She had never heard our music; she didn’t care about it,” Jazze adds. “Aaliyah was all upset, because she was like, ‘Aw, Mom! He didn’t mean it. Let’s work!’ Whatever she said made everybody like, ‘We can’t go to the studio until Momma says it’s okay.’ ” It was smoothed over and they were finally able to work, but more business matters piled on.
“From what I know, [Noontime’s] business deal with Blackground soured and the shit went all the way south,” Scantz remembers. “Blackground was like, ‘Nope, none of them records y’all did with Aaliyah? None of them coming out!’ ” They eventually mended fences with Noontime, but at this juncture it was a no go. Cut to the Next Friday soundtrack, where the song somehow made its way to the hands of the soundtrack’s A&R. Noontime owned the licensing, and so a bid on the track was placed. There was a massive price tag by then for an Aaliyah track. “This was the first record that I sold and jumped me into the game,” Scantz says. “Noontime sold that record to Priority Records, because Priority was licensing the soundtrack to Next Friday.” Meanwhile, Blackground circled back and “put the highest price on Aaliyah,” Scantz continues. “Blackground was like, ‘Oh, y’all just gonna feature Aaliyah like that on the record? We need $200,000.’ ” Blackground was paid; Priority bought the track for $43,000. “After Next Friday, Blackground was like, ‘Hold up, we gonna buy the rights, because that $200,000 paid Aaliyah; we gonna own the rights now.’ ” Blackground got the licensing back from Priority and also put the song on the Romeo Must Die soundtrack. So in essence, the label managed to pay their artist with someone else’s money while in turn buying back the song to make money of their own. It was a diabolical genius ploy, though all shrewd business moves aside, Scantz said that song changed the course of his career thanks to Aaliyah. He went on to work with other big-name acts like Jagged Edge, Chris Brown, Pitbull, and Miguel among many others.
“I did have one time that I had the opportunity to get an acknowledgment from her for making the record and it was in passing,” Scantz says, as the two met at an industry event and Aaliyah thanked him for the song. “But my life was forever changed after that instance because it accomplished something for me that I knew that I wanted to do from the beginning, which was work with Aaliyah. I felt like she was the greatest gift that we had that had ever so much more to give us. But she gave us the greatest she had while she was here. I’m happy to be a part of that story.”
There were a lot of guest features happening for Aaliyah, with little movement on her own album. She was already working on some things with Static, but there was no formal release in sight, where she could show significant growth and once again display her constant evolution. For most, it’s a cause for concern, and fearing their own relevance was hanging in the balance, especially during that era of music.
It was a time of major experimentation for both male and female artists. Gone were the days of fitting one specific cookie-cutter classification, and enter the landscape of “originality is King/Queen.” The more unclassifiable you were, the better. That was Aaliyah’s superpower, but now everyone was in on the secret. Sure, there were still none like her, which always gave her the added advantage. Not a single artist out during that time period had anyone saying, “They remind me of Aaliyah,” though even years after her passing that phrase remains reiterated. Still, despite having no third album in sight, Aaliyah was appearing on others’ projects to still keep her name out there, since for many in the music industry a lengthy absence means you’ve retired. The competition was getting thicker, however, and her own team was even changing. But there’s a thing called faith, and Aaliyah had plenty of it, given where she’d come from before. So instead of Aaliyah deciding to quickly hop back in the studio and slap together another project, she kept her cool and took her time. She didn’t race to the studio. In fact, she did the exact opposite.
She headed to the silver screen.
CHAPTER EIGHT: ROMEO MUST TRY
Look, I don’t know how it is in China, but in America if a girl is kicking your ass you do not have to be a gentleman.
—Aaliyah as Trish in Romeo Must Die
Aaliyah demanded she perform her own stunts.
“I wanted the audience to be like ‘wow, she actually got up there and is kicking some butt,’ ” she told CNN in 2000. It was a tall order when you’re filming a movie that involves kicks, jumps, and fight scenes, but she was up for the challenge. It was also her very first movie role, so she wanted to go big or go home.
The film was Romeo Must Die, an action film based loosely upon the Shakespearean tragic love story Romeo and Juliet. Where Shakespeare had Capulets and Montagues at war in Verona, Italy, Romeo Must Die had two rival gangs in Oakland, California: one being Chinese and the other Black. Both families are battling over the same “turf.” The film is steeped in both martial arts and hip-hop, as Jet Li makes his English-speaking debut here as Han Sing (the son of a rival gang) and the late DMX continues his track record from nailing his role in Belly just a year before Romeo Must Die went into production, playing the role of Silk, a club owner caught in the cross hairs. Aaliyah plays the Juliet to Jet Li’s Romeo; her character is Trish O’Day, the fiery yet good-hearted daughter of Isaak O’Day, played by Delroy Lindo.
It’s a modern-day love story–slash–action film, with a twist. The concept came from producer Joel Silver, who along with fellow producer Jim Van Wyck wanted to create an American action film that didn’t feel dated. Silver’s track record in that arena was solid; his résumé includes the Lethal Weapon and Matrix franchises, the first two Die Hard films, and the first two Predator films, among many others. Silver had just released the first Matrix within two months of starting production for Romeo Must Die, along with Lethal Weapon 4, which costarred Jet Li. Silver wanted to bring Jet Li further into the American action film industry, while also experimenting with new ways to convey martial art fight scenes—which included the application of X-ray vision, similar to the spacey effects found in The Matrix. The Matrix also borrowed from the Kung Fu movie technique called wire fu, where fight scenes are wire assisted, using pulleys, and shot to create these dramatic action moments. Romeo Must Die also utilizes this, though it’s arguably more fitting here, since Jet Li was actually a martial arts star—particularly in Wushu, which is Chinese Kung Fu.
Aaliyah met with Lorenzo di Bonaventura (then a studio executive at Warner Bros. Pictures) and told him her vision for her very first acting role. Di Bonaventura then introduced her to Silver. After a screen test, she landed the role. Her acting was impressive from the start, as Silver later cast Aaliyah for the role of Zee in The Matrix Reloaded following this one, as well as The Matrix Revolutions. Cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak also made his directorial debut with Romeo Must Die, which kicked off a track record of other action films, including two more with DMX—Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 the Grave, the latter of which also stars Jet Li. The screenplay was written by Eric Bernt and John Jarrell.
Hip-hop and martial arts have a long-standing history. Rappers often recall growing up in households where grainy Kung Fu flicks were playing, which first introduced them to the art of physical battle. Berry Gordy’s 1985 film The Last Dragon reinforced that connection on the big screen, though hip-hop artists turn toward old Kung Fu movies like 1972’s Five Fingers of Death as early inspiration. Then, of course, Wu-Tang Clan jumped into the nineties with their own brand of martial arts–inspired hip-hop, even renaming their Staten Island stomping grounds as Shaolin. Later hip-hop artists like Migos and Kendrick Lamar have also sent nods back to martial arts; the latter affectionately referred to himself as “Kung Fu Kenny,” a callback to the Rush Hour 2 film (which was another fusion of hip-hop and martial arts).
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With Romeo Must Die there was a combination of traditional fight scenes, mixed with high-speed chases, violence, a few categorically gory scenes, and yes, a romance—though the latter was more implied than enforced. There was a sixteen-year difference in age between Jet Li and Aaliyah, and while that large gap wasn’t a focal point of the film, it did seem to affect their on-screen romance. The two never kiss on screen. There were a number of factors that were “blamed” for this, though it was really all speculation. Some felt it was the age difference that made the romance seem less desirable (and an unfortunate throwback to Aaliyah’s past), while others have speculated that racism toward Asian actors deemed them undesirable and unsexy to anyone outside of Hollywood, so it was best to imply that the two were in love rather than physically express it. On top of that, having an Asian man and a Black woman in a relationship on-screen was also rumored to be less appealing, had it played out as visibly romantic for the audience. (There was a kissing scene filmed, though it happened right after Jet Li’s father in the film commits suicide, so it was written off as an insensitive moment to wedge in a kissing scene that was allegedly deemed unpalatable.) Regardless of the motive behind there being no love scene, there was still considerable chemistry between Aaliyah and Jet Li in the film. Aaliyah was a natural at acting, and considering her emergence in almost every facet of entertainment prior to this moment, all signs proved that Hollywood was next for her. She had roots in entertainment since she was a kid, so this was merely a progression of what she already created over the years.
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