Rapper Missy Elliot paid tribute to her friend, singer Aaliyah Haughton, as she marked the 17th anniversary of her death. According to E! News , Elliot posted a video on Twitter, where she could be seen writing: “Aaliyah, we miss you so much. But your legacy will live on forever and ever.” The camera then pans to show memorabilia of the singer above the text.
Elliot also tweeted about the singer on Saturday.
“Aaliyah (Babygirl) I can only imagine how great you would be today winning oscars & creating sick music & still setting fashion trends! Your mom & brother [Rashad Haughton] & your fans been holding it down 4 u [heart emoji] you will always be A One in A Million sleep peacefully angel Babygirl.”
She added that though “heaven gained an angel” in 2001, Aaliyah’s impact on the music scene is still being felt.
Aaliyah (Babygirl) I can only imagine how great you would be today winning oscars?& creating sick music & still setting fashion trends! Your mom & brother @RAD_6 & your fans been holding it down 4 u??you will always be A One in A Million?? sleep peacefully angel Babygirl?? pic.twitter.com/daHhoIs8k5
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) August 25, 2018
Aaliyah was just 22-years-old when she passed away in a plane crash in the Bahamas after filming the “Rock The Boat” music video. The shoot wrapped early, and the crew decided to take off. According to ABC News , the pilot and passengers had argued about the weight of the equipment on the plane. Though the pilot feared the plane was overloaded, he relented and the plane took off from the Marsh Harbor airport at around 7 p.m., en route to Opa-Locka, Florida.
Though the cause of the crash was not immediately known, authorities said that the “plane flew about 200 feet, crashed and caught on fire.” After an investigation, authorities found that the plane had been over its maximum take-off weight by 700 pounds. All but one passenger on the plane, including Aaliyah, were killed instantly.
Aaliyah was a multi-platinum artist who first reached stardom in 1994 with her album Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number. Though the singer courted controversy when she married R. Kelly, who was over 10 years her senior (she was 15 at the time). Their marriage was annulled, and neither artist commented on the marriage at the time. She followed that album with One In A Million , which featured the incredibly popular single “If Your Girl Only Knew.”
The singer starred in several movies while she took a hiatus from her music career, appearing in Romeo Must Die and Queen Of The Damned .
“I think Aaliyah was the next Jennifer Lopez, the next Whitney Houston, the next Madonna, the next Janet Jackson,” said Emil Wilbekin, former editor-in-chief of Vibe Magazine . “She was a great dancer, she was a great singer and she had a great attitude and people liked working with her and people genuinely liked her.”