This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. Whether it was DMX and Ja Rule or Aaliyah and Eve, bandanas were definitely one of the biggest early 2000s trends, and they are low key starting to make a comeback. And it's good to know that, like, even though her career and her life were cut short, it seems like people seem to appreciate her.ĪALIYAH: (Singing) I'm sending him a 4-page letter, and I enclosed it with a kiss.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. And I think now we're seeing a lot of people really begin to trace those influences that Aaliyah had back then onto what we're seeing now. HARRIS: I think there's a newfound respect for her.

Though it was a short and eventful life, Harris says her talent endures. Kelly also briefly married her when she was underage. INSKEEP: Aaliyah was known for her voice and her fashion and was moving into acting.

Her outfits consisted of tube tops worn with matching pants. Aaliyah was known to always be wearing Tommy Hilfiger. Calvin Klein, Dona Karan New York, and Nautica were some of the few. She had just this sort of effortless style, effortless cool. Back in the mid 90s, and progressing through the late 90s, many brands began working with hip hop culture. HARRIS: You can see her influence in everything from Drake to Syd to Normani. She says Aaliyah's style can be found everywhere in today's R&B. INSKEEP: Her second album was 'One In A Million,' which was how many of her fans regarded her.ĪISHA HARRIS, BYLINE: And that album and the song, the title song, have been pretty much considered at this point to be sort of a harbinger for all of the R&B sounds that we would get after that and today.įADEL: That's Aisha Harris, the host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'THROW YOUR HANDS UP')ĪALIYAH: (Singing) The time has finally come to save my beats with the funky hip-hop swing - the funky swing I might add - oh, check it. She'd been a star since her teenage debut, an album called 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number.' Authorities have confirmed that R&B singer and actress Aaliyah is among eight people killed in a plane crash.Īaliyah Dana Haughton was 22. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A breaking story out of the Bahamas tonight. It burst into flames shortly after takeoff from the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. Twenty years ago today, on August 25, 2001, a small Cessna plane crashed. Da Brat at an event for The 1999 Source Hip-Hop Music Awards (1999) L.

Aaliyah 80s hip hop fashion