“My Halloween theme this year is ICONS! Musical legends!!! Paying homage to
some of my faves!” tweeted Kim Kardashian West on October 28 th , and earned
2.5K RTs and 30K likes for this zeal. What followed later, blasted a hole of divided
opinions in Kim’s HallowKKWeen walkthroughs. Cher was absorbed well, and then
came Aaliyah. The Aaliyah avatar of Kim took the internet by a spate of twitteratti
storm, which found base from Aaliyah fans, and stood opposing to Kim’s die-hards.
The Aaliyah look twitter Link –
Baby Girl Aaliyah pic.twitter.com/5GUHkNJgNi
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 29, 2017
Aaliyah – “the R&B, pop, soul and hip-hop original”, reigned the hearts of music
lovers. Her death at a tender age of 22 placed her deeper into the souls of her
music fans. Posthumously adorned, loved and martyred by the fan following,
Aaliyah – an artist of calibre, and a person with a soulful heart – ruled the minds,
hearts and souls of millions.
Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B, pop and hip hop in the 1990s,
leaving an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole. According to
Billboard, Aaliyah revolutionized R&B with her sultry mix of pop, soul and hip hop.
Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, was released under her
mononym “Aaliyah”, by Jive and Blackground Records on May 24, 1994; the album
debut at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, and ultimately peaked at number
18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States,
where it was certified two times Platinum by the RIAA.
Aaliyah’s debut single, “Back & Forth”, topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
Songs chart for three weeks and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The second single,
a cover of The Isley Brothers’ “At Your Best (You Are Love)”, peaked at number six
on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold by the RIAA. The title track,
“Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number”, peaked at number 75 on the Hot 100.
“Try Again” was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the
Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on
airplay. The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film
awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. It also earned her a Grammy Award
nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5
million copies in the United States.
The week AFTER Aaliyah’s death, her third studio album, Aaliyah, rose from
number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200. “Rock the Boat” was released as a
posthumous single. The music video premiered on BET’s Access Granted; it became
the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show. It was also
included on the Now That’s What I Call Music! 8 compilation series; a portion of
the album’s profits was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund. Promotional
posters for Aaliyah that had been put up in major cities such as New York and Los
Angeles became makeshift memorials for grieving fans.
“More than a Woman” and “I Care 4 U” were released as posthumous singles and
peaked within the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified double
Platinum by the RIAA and sold 2.6 million copies in the United States.”More than a
Woman” reached number one on the UK singles chart making Aaliyah the first
female deceased artist to reach number one on the UK singles chart.
Despite having a prosperous career that allowed her to purchase the vehicle she
wanted, Aaliyah revealed during her final interview on August 21, 2001 on 106 &
Park that she had never owned a car due to living in New York City and hiring a car
or driver on a regular basis.
On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and the members of the record company boarded a
small plane that crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the end
of the runway and exploded.
After Aaliyah’s death, the German newspaper Die Zeit published excerpts from an
interview done shortly before her death, in which she described a recurring dream:
“It is dark in my favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don’t know why. I’m
scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I am swimming in the
air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It’s a wonderful
feeling.
In 2005, Aaliyah’s second compilation album, Ultimate Aaliyah was released in the
UK by Blackground Records. In March 2012, music producer Jeffrey “J-Dub” Walker
announced on his Twitter account that a song “Steady Ground”, which he
produced for Aaliyah’s third album, would be included in the forthcoming
posthumous Aaliyah album.
On December 19, 2015, Timbaland uploaded a snippet of a new Aaliyah song title
“He Keeps Me Shakin” on his Instagram account and said it would be released
December 25, 2015, on the Timbaland mixtape King Stays King.
So, obviously – when the reality TV star Kim Kardashian dressed as one of R&B’s
most beloved singers: Aaliyah, the social media was not too pleased by what Kim
showed as “Baby Girl Aaliyah”.
Kardashian West, 37, took on the late singer’s look from her 2001 hit “Try Again,”
wearing a bejewelled choker, with a matching bra and black pants. Social media
users quickly took notice, and began criticizing the star.
“Legend or not Aaliyah is a black woman and you’re not. It’s offensive and you
shouldn’t push this limit, but ok…,” one person tweeted to the star.
Another Twitter user simply wrote: “Kim Kardashian as Aaliyah? It’s a no.”
However, some found nothing wrong with the star’s Aaliyah display. “Someone
explain to me what’s wrong with Kim Kardashian dressing as Aaliyah…. she looks
great,” a tweeple added.
One person pointed to Aaliyah’s legendary star status as reason for the backlash,
writing, “I think the reason ppl are mad that Kim Kardashian dressed as Aaliyah for
Halloween is cause Aaliyah is precious to most!”
