Aaliyah remembered: Aaliyah graces the cover of Fader magazine

It is with great sadness that I post this article. Every time I begin to write, a feeling of sorrow just runs through my body. Seven years later and I am still in mourning over her death. Who could ever forget Aaliyah? I know I can't. I feel strongly that I was probably Aaliyah's biggest fan. I'll never forget the day that my Uncle gave me her very first CD - Age ain't nothing but a number. We were on our way to a family reunion in Mississippi and I listened to it over and over and over again. I think Young Nation was probably one of my favorite songs on the album. It was then that my obsession with Aaliyah began. I wanted to dress like her - I purchased some dark shades, baggy pants, and tight tops just so that I could imitate her style. Her voice was so angelic and the lyrics in her music was so relateable. Everything she went through, I went through. I felt like Aaliyah & I were growing up together. Then One in a million was released, I was in the prime of my high school days. My friends & I just started driving and believe me - her CD was bumping in everyone's car including my rusty 1986 Buick Sommerset. Man those were the days.

I'll never forget the day that I found out that Aaliyah was killed. My friend Juanita & I took a trip to NY city just to hang out. We were too busy laughing and talking about the crazy NY traffic to notice that every song on the radio was Aaliyah. We didn't really care cause we loved Aaliyah so much that we didn't mind listening to it all. Rock the Boat was just released and we LOVED that song. That's when the DJ finally gave the bad news. Aaliyah had been killed. It seemed as though everything around us just got quiet. The whole thing seemed surreal to me. The car ride back to my friends grandmother's home in the Bronx was quiet. We just looked at each other and the tears begin to roll down our face. I felt like I had just lost my best friend.

The news still didn't stick until her memorial service a few days later. Millions of people lined the streets of NY while the beautiful carriage rode by releasing doves. Candlelight visuals were everywhere, you could hear people singing "your love is a one in a million, it goes on and on and on, you give me a really good feeling" . I hadn't seen a reaction to a death like that since Tupac's & Biggie's murders a few years prior. I guess that is completely different as Aaliyah was a sweet angel and no one ever expected for her to be taken away from us so soon. The love was everywhere. You could feel it.

The songbird known to most of the world as Aaliyah Dana Haughton will be gracing the Icon Issue of Fader Magazine. Aaliyah, who was tragically killed in a plane crash going on seven years ago, will be remembered by friends and family in the magazine.

Here are some quotes of what people had to say about her:

Missy Elliott:"We was gonna save the world. We was gonna change music every chance we got. We was gonna always be family. Forever."

Mark Ronson:"If it wasn't for Aaliyah being the face and voice of [Missy Elliott and Timbaland's] sound they might have never got to where they did. They were presenting their sort of brilliant but challenging breakthrough music through this beautiful young girl who could sing it perfectly.

"Kidada Jones":I think about her all the time...Anytime she's brought up or her music comes on the radio, it’s sweet, but it definitely sounds like she found a niche before it was here. If you listen to her music it's so relevant today, but we had it so long ago.


"Damon Dash": She was already a fashion icon, she was getting into movies, she had already planted that seed. If she was alive today she would be so relevant. I see little bits of her everywhere I look, in a lot of artists.

"This is what the executive editor of Fader Magazine had to say about Aaliyah":
"It only took Aaliyah a few albums to make an indelible mark on the world of pop music, but today her influence can be felt across numerous genres," said Chris Richards, Executive Editor of The FADER. "This issue not only tracks that influence, but also offers a more personal glimpse into the life of a true pop visionary."

Check out the story: http://www.thefader.com/magazine