“@Cole_STP: Aaliyah was one of the promising ones who would have definitely changed the R&B game even today.”

Earlier this morning, I tweeted this and I have to say, I stand by this statement.

Its mind boggling that at my age, I am disgusted with the state of music as it is today. A lot of people will not agree with me and that’s fine. There are few artists that I really appreciate in this day and age and it’s sad that in order to say “good music”, I have to creep into the crevices of the archives and pull out music from the 80’s and 90’s. That’s the music that I can consider great music for my time, even though I am an avid 60-80’s fan. I could still listen to some good Ella Fitzgerald and many more great artists during that time. I could still listen to some good disco and still feel the need to do some of the old time dances that yes, didn’t need my butt shaking up against a man. A lot of y’all won’t hear me on this one, but that’s fine too.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton would have been 33 years old today. That’s pretty amazing. I’ve heard people say that she would have been a great entertainer, but her singing wasn’t all that, but that’s up to your feelings. Many people such as Beyonce have been classified as great entertainers and personally, she has the voice to match what she does. I mean Jay-Z on Life and Times posted a video of her singing A Cappella to 1+1 before American Idol and I mean it was something epic. Pure passion and soul, coming from the inside and sounds melodic on the outside. Whitney Houston pre-Bobby Brown, changed the game. Mariah Carey did too. If you can hit a note like her, then come see me and prove it. You really can’t hate on women of this caliber, because they brought it and they worked hard to get where they were today.

Aaliyah gave us hit classics. She hit home with a lot of songs. I remember just sitting and watching music videos and just being in awe of her dance moves and just watching her sing her heart out. “One in a Million” will always be one of my personal favorites and “Try Again” is just something I could still bump with my girlfriends on those nights where it is appropriate to play those woman-empowering songs and be proud to be a woman. She died too soon, because I still strongly feel that she had a few more hit albums in her. She could have probably surpassed Beyonce’s success. Seriously.

What I am getting to here is that Aaliyah clearly shows the deteriorating state of R&B. We have to reach back to get classics. The newbies aren’t really pushing R&B to where it should really be. R&B always had a mature feel to it. The state of relationships and how we act as a people definitely influenced the new R&B and it really is not the same. We don’t get those songs about how great it is to be with someone you love. I hear about the one night stands and the “Quickies”. Yes I am referring to Miguel, but you see where I am going with this. Not a lot of people will really understand how much it hurts someone who has a positive hope for the music industry to actually be what it really is supposed to be. It really isn’t supposed to be about the money, but the business aspect of it has to be discussed in another article.

So as I listen to “Rock The Boat” and all her discography for the day, I want to know who will really step up to the plate after Beyonce, and all these other greats have run their course. Hopefully we shall see.

“If Aaliyah was still alive, would the R&B game be different?” This question always sparks up so many debates. You can’t deny her voice and her beauty. She passed so soon, but her music lives on. Check it out.

Rochelle Jordan and her producer Klash put together an Aaliyah tribute in the form of a remix to her hit song “Are You That Somebody” to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the soul singer’s passing.  This comes just a few days after dropping her ROJO album, and Earth to Your Brain, which you should check out, if you haven’t already.

Hit the jump, and open your ears.

The Music Industry Exposed (Part 6 Of 11) Destroying DMX.

My boy Mikey T put me onto this clip that claims that the music industry is out to destroy DMX –  or worse. Is this bigger than just one man’s actions? Or is he purely irresponsible and thus responsible for his own demise? Comments below, please.

Aaliyah. I Remember you clearly.

Yeah i’m an 80s baby, so I had a picture up on my wall way before she passed, and way after she passed. I can’t front, i definitely shed tears. I can hardly watch the full video…I was listening to and watching her every move while she was in her prime and her ironically and Left Eye were the two I had the illest crushes on (and Monica). This is the best i can do for now… thank you Aaliyah.

DMX recites a poem for her: tune in at 1 minute

This reminds me of DMX, and this song — he shared a strong connection with her. I share a strong connection with this song, too.