Albums: Aaliyah

Aaliyah, Blackground

Simon Price
Monday 16 July 2001 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

It's taken seven years, but Aaliyah has finally surpassed the effortless charm of "Down With the Clique". And she's done so by going to the opposite extreme. R Kelly may have served her well as a producer (and more) when she was a teenager, but once he started to believe he could fly, it was time to move on. This time, she's hooked up with Timbaland, and Aaliyah is packed with his trademark staccato beats and scalpel-sharp strings. In many ways, this album is the true successor to Destiny's Child's Writing on the Wall (rather than their own Survivor); so much so, in fact, that you could choose to hear it as an "answer record". Further evidence that black pop is the avant garde.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in