June 29, 2003 @ 9:53 pm

Guardian Angel

Craig Seymour

It has been tumultuous year since the world lost Aaliyah. Craig Seymour reflects reflects on what she still means to us, and why she’ll never really be gone.

It's this simple: Aaliyah isn't gone. How could she be? She's everywhere.You can see her in the "Rock the Boat" video, the last work of art she ever made. When Aaliyah is dancing on that beach in the burnt orange sunset-all smiles, wet lips, and joy-she looks as if she's living like we all should, like tomorrow isn't promised. Then there's the "More Than a Woman" video, where she displays an untapped sexual confidence, doing rounded hip thrusts and a towel dance that are like hip hop burlesque. You'd never guess this was the same young woman who once hid behind baggy clothes and dark shades. See, even at 22, Aaliyah was a survivor. That's what made us love her and made her potential seem so limitless. In seven years, she had transformed herself from an enigmatic ingenue into a self-confident singing and acting force. You can see and hear Aaliyah's legacy in two of the year's biggest new talents, Ashanti and Tweet. Check out the cover of Ashanti's self-titled debut album: With her wavy locks and belly-baring peasant-girl top, doesn't she look like she stepped out of the video for "Rock the Boat"? And don't some of Ashanti's songs, like "Foolish" and "Rescue," express the same dark spin on young love that was Aaliyah's calling card? You also can't help but think of Aaliyah when listening to Tweet's sublime Southern Hummingbird. You wonder what Aaliyah could've done with those Timbaland-crafted, Middle Eastern harem beats. And the 30-year-old Tweet's eyebrow-raising sexual adventurousness and emotional frankness suggest one direction that Aaliyah might have explored, had her plane not gone down that August night a year ago. Music hasn't been our only souvenir of Aaliyah. For the hip hop generation, her death served as a prologue of sorts to our current age of uncertainty. After August 25, 2001, we struggled to understand why one of our most promising artists had been taken away so young. But just 17 days later, we would have to grapple with hijackers steering three passenger jets into major U.S. landmarks, slaughtering thousands in the name of religious fervor. Perhaps this is why T-shirts emblazoned with Aaliyah's airbrushed visage have become so popular, serving as fashion statements of hope and remembrance, much like the American flag. This year will bring more reminders of her, including the many lawsuits over the plane crash that physically took her from us. In many ways, the questionable circumstances surrounding the accident amplify Aaliyah's enduring mystique. Then there's the planned greatest hits album, which her millions of fans have been clamoring for. We'll re-experience the cricket chirps and double-time charm of "One in a Million," the baby cries and ice-princess cool of "Are You That Somebody?" and the slick electro flirtation of "Try Again." These tunes still sound more forward-thinking than anything else on R&B radio. The set, which also includes unreleased cuts, will provide more opportunities to succumb to Aaliyah's whispery seduction. Her music, like her memory, lives on.

Article tags: Guardian, Angel 

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