It was August 25, 2001—nine years ago tomorrow. Just another Saturday night in New York City… Hanging out with a crew of music industry folks at a Meatpacking District bar called APT, the spot was crowded as DJ Chairman Mao spun enough old-school hip-hop jams and Prince songs to keep everyone smiling. While there was little room for dancing, folks seemed content with their cocktails and chatter.

Although I don’t recall the exact time, somewhere around eleven o’clock, people started looking at a news blast on their Blackberrys. “Oh my God,” a female friend mumbled, her eyes beginning to tear. “It says here that Aaliyah died in a plane crash.” The accident had occurred when Aaliyah and her camp were returning from the Bahamas, where the 22-year-old had just finished shooting the video for “Rock the Boat,” the second single from her self-titled third album.

Shortly after she and her team boarded a small twin-engine Cessna plane, it crashed and exploded on impact. “She was a very happy person,” jiggy filmmaker Hype Williams, who directed “Rock the Boat,” told MTV. “She had nothing but love to give to others and she selflessly shared much of who she was. I don’t know if anyone really understands that about her. She had these incredible, graceful qualities as a person. I don’t know if her fans know that about her.”

As a somber chill trickled through the crowd at APT, a few people, including my sensitive friend, burst into tears. Leaning against the wood-paneled wall in that narrow room, she confessed, “I feel kind of dumb being this upset. I mean, I didn’t even know her.”

Tenderly grabbing her hand, I comforted her for a few moments as I reflected on the first time I’d met the future superstar in her hometown of Detroit. It was in 1994, before the so-called “R&B Lolita’s” alleged affair and marriage to producer/mentor R. Kelly, followed by a spectacular sophomore project (One in a Million, 1996) that introduced the production chops of Timbaland and Missy Elliott—the two producers who had started calling Aaliyah “baby girl” in the first place.

For the rest of this story, go to: http://www.soulsummer.com...girl/all/1

She is STILL missed.....

She had nothing but love to give to others and she selflessly shared much of who she was. I don’t know if anyone really understands that about her. She had these incredible, graceful qualities as a person. I don’t know if her fans know that about her.”

oh yes....we knew.

[Edited 8/24/10 12:11pm]

BabyGirl

I remember how shocked I was too when I saw an interview clip on tv and the bottom headlines said "Aaaliyah dies in plane crash" I thought no, it had to be for a movie role and called the radio station right away to ask even though after it, the news said her hair stylist, makeup artist, etc. were all with her.

SHOCKADELICA1 said:

She is STILL missed.....

True, and very much so.

aww

I miss her. I miss all that she could have become. So pretty

I was in Atlantic City, when I got a phone call from my girlfriend, at the tme. When she told me what happened, I was stunned. I was like, "WHAT!"...."HUH?" I then turned on the TV and found out, what she said was true. I remember, just a few weeks earlier, I had recieved a promo copy of her album and was listening to it. As soon as "Rock The Boat" came on, I looked at my brother and said, "That's going to be a hit"...."I hope that she is around long enough to enjoy it". My brother just looked at me. Two weeks later, she was gone.

I was just starting to get really obsessed with her music. My aunt said to me one night "Do you know Aaliyah?". I got all excited thinking she might be touring but then my aunt told me what happened. I was surprised how long it took me to stop feeling upset, she's probably the first celebrity I mourned.

That first article was right. She was really happy and content with her life when she died tragically. I remember looking at an interview of her just a few days before she died. Saying to myself how happy she looked and that I think something is going to happen to her. I then opened my deluxe Aaliyah cd/dvd & played the whole thing that friday evening. She died the next day. I never like to tell anyone this. But I predicted the worse. That sunday I found out casually from my cousin she died in that plane crash. It really affected me. Still does......

[img:$uid]http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2084/9118410/23349317/390585316.jpg[/img:$uid]

I can't believe next year will make it 10 years since she passed. Aaliyah had so much potential. She was talented and by all accounts, a beautiful person on the inside and outside as well. It's so sad that her life was cut so short, but she accomplished and experienced more than some people twice her age. Her music and spirit will continue to live on.

RIP Aaliayh

I have to admit this. Right after she died r&b wasn't the same.

I was sitting in a bar watching preseason football. One tv was on a local station and it scrolled across the bottom. Everybody I called or texted, hadn't heard.

I was always pretty much the only person amongst my friends who listened to her music. I don't love everything she released - not even close, actually. But there's a good 10-15 songs she did with Timbaland that are just untouchable. Unlike anything before or after.

Also, I have been know to spend an hour or so every once in a while watching her video on YouTube.

No one can fill her shoes. She was so classy, so respectable. Her presence alone was amazing. She was able to be sexy, sensual and seductive with her clothes ON. Never saw her gyrating and pussy poppin on stage like these other female artists do. She had a mystery about her. When she left, she took female R&B with her because it's just not the same. Im sure we'll get a new album next year to mark 10 years

I'm going to sound like I lived under a rock though I didn't, but blackberry and texting was already popular? I didn't have my own cell phone till 2003 and barely used texting and others I knew with phones at the time were being so reserved with theirs. Of course I'm not like that at all anymore though.

I found out that Saturday night when a friend called to tell me as my boyfriend and I drove home. We watched CNN all night to get the latest. In those early hours there wasn't much info about the other victims on the plane.

It wasn't until Monday morning when a friend called me asking, "Hey, don't you have a good friend named Gina Smith that works for a record company?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "I just heard on the radio she was on the plane with Aaliyah."

I hadn't talked to Gina in a month or so, and didn't know she was on the plane with them. I called her home number and her fiancee answered. I asked if she was really gone and he confirmed the reports were true. He told me that she wasn't supposed to be on the plane. I believe Fatima had a seat and Gina begged her to switch because she had been traveling with Aaliyah for weeks and wanted to get home to her fiancee.

Gina was a total sweetheart. We met at a crappy customer service job right after we both graduated from college in 1994. My girl was committed to having a career in the industry and paid her dues by working in Promotions at Jive Records where she first met Aaliyah. Gina always had great things to say about her.

When Gina realized she wasn't going to get far in the biz being in Dallas she picked up and moved to LA without a job. She spent her last night in Dallas at my apartment, then rolled out the next morning for the 24 hour drive to LA. The pic below is from that night and it's the only picture I ever took of Gina. I guess we were too busy having a ball to think about snapping pics.

Gina soon got a job at Atlantic Records. When her boss there got a better job at Motown she hired Gina and she moved to NYC. While there, Aaliyah's uncle recruited her to work for Blackground Records based on her good relationship with Aaliyah from Jive.

I miss my girl so much. She had just turned 30 the month before she died. Ironically, her birthday occured in Paris while she was with Aaliyah and they were filming her episode of Diary. They celebrated Gina's 30th in a club in Paris and Aaliyah wanted MTV to feature it in the show. But in true Gina fashion, she declined preferring to remain off camera. After the deaths, MTV provided her family and friends with video from that night though.

Gina was LOVED by all who knew her. A genuinely sweet-natured soul but still ambitious. A rarity in the cut-throat entertainment industry. She died doing what she loved and would have no doubt risen in the business if she had been given the chance. Gina was adopted and her parents only child.

Many lives were lost that day. All of them had potential, ambitions, dreams, and loved ones who are missing them right now. Let's not forget that.

I miss you, gurl. Daaaaaaamnnnn, Gina!

[img:$uid]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j132/tamarasmith1/gina.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 8/26/10 7:06am]

thank you for sharing that SCNDLS.

RIP to all those with Aaliyah. She had good friends and good people around her. They are all missed.

SCNDLS said:

I found out that Saturday night when a friend called to tell me as my boyfriend and I drove home. We watched CNN all night to get the latest. In those early hours there wasn't much info about the other victims on the plane.

It wasn't until Monday morning when a friend called me asking, "Hey, don't you have a good friend named Gina Smith that works for a record company?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "I just heard on the radio she was on the plane with Aaliyah."

I hadn't talked to Gina in a month or so, and didn't know she was on the plane with them. I called her home number and her fiancee answered. I asked if she was really gone and he confirmed the reports were true. He told me that she wasn't supposed to be on the plane. I believe Fatima had a seat and Gina begged her to switch because she had been traveling with Aaliyah for weeks and wanted to get home to her fiancee.

Gina was a total sweetheart. We met at a crappy customer service job right after we both graduated from college in 1994. My girl was committed to having a career in the industry and paid her dues by working in Promotions at Jive Records where she first met Aaliyah. Gina always had great things to say about her.

When Gina realized she wasn't going to get far in the biz being in Dallas she picked up and moved to LA without a job. She spent her last night in Dallas at my apartment, then rolled out the next morning for the 24 hour drive to LA. The pic below is from that night and it's the only picture I ever took of Gina. I guess we were too busy having a ball to think about snapping pics.

Gina soon got a job at Atlantic Records. When her boss there got a better job at Motown she hired Gina and she moved to NYC. While there, Aaliyah's uncle recruited her to work for Blackground Records based on her good relationship with Aaliyah from Jive.

I miss my girl so much. She had just turned 30 the month before she died. Ironically, her birthday occured in Paris while she was with Aaliyah and they were filming her episode of Diary. They celebrated Gina's 30th in a club in Paris and Aaliyah wanted MTV to feature it in the show. But in true Gina fashion, she declined preferring to remain off camera. After the deaths, MTV provided her family and friends with video from that night though.

Gina was LOVED by all who knew her. A genuinely sweet-natured soul but still ambitious. A rarity in the cut-throat entertainment industry. She died doing what she loved and would have no doubt risen in the business if she had been given the chance. Gina was adopted and her parents only child.

Many lives were lost that day. All of them had potential, ambitions, dreams, and loved ones who are missing them right now. Let's not forget that.

I miss you, gurl. Daaaaaaamnnnn, Gina!

[img:$uid]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j132/tamarasmith1/gina.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 8/26/10 7:06am]

That is a heartbreaking story thank U for sharing that. I do remember Fatima saying she was suppose to be on that plane. I can imagine how she feels now. That is going to haunt her for the rest of her life...........

SCNDLS said:

I found out that Saturday night when a friend called to tell me as my boyfriend and I drove home. We watched CNN all night to get the latest. In those early hours there wasn't much info about the other victims on the plane.

It wasn't until Monday morning when a friend called me asking, "Hey, don't you have a good friend named Gina Smith that works for a record company?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "I just heard on the radio she was on the plane with Aaliyah."

I hadn't talked to Gina in a month or so, and didn't know she was on the plane with them. I called her home number and her fiancee answered. I asked if she was really gone and he confirmed the reports were true. He told me that she wasn't supposed to be on the plane. I believe Fatima had a seat and Gina begged her to switch because she had been traveling with Aaliyah for weeks and wanted to get home to her fiancee.

Gina was a total sweetheart. We met at a crappy customer service job right after we both graduated from college in 1994. My girl was committed to having a career in the industry and paid her dues by working in Promotions at Jive Records where she first met Aaliyah. Gina always had great things to say about her.

When Gina realized she wasn't going to get far in the biz being in Dallas she picked up and moved to LA without a job. She spent her last night in Dallas at my apartment, then rolled out the next morning for the 24 hour drive to LA. The pic below is from that night and it's the only picture I ever took of Gina. I guess we were too busy having a ball to think about snapping pics.

Gina soon got a job at Atlantic Records. When her boss there got a better job at Motown she hired Gina and she moved to NYC. While there, Aaliyah's uncle recruited her to work for Blackground Records based on her good relationship with Aaliyah from Jive.

I miss my girl so much. She had just turned 30 the month before she died. Ironically, her birthday occured in Paris while she was with Aaliyah and they were filming her episode of Diary. They celebrated Gina's 30th in a club in Paris and Aaliyah wanted MTV to feature it in the show. But in true Gina fashion, she declined preferring to remain off camera. After the deaths, MTV provided her family and friends with video from that night though.

Gina was LOVED by all who knew her. A genuinely sweet-natured soul but still ambitious. A rarity in the cut-throat entertainment industry. She died doing what she loved and would have no doubt risen in the business if she had been given the chance. Gina was adopted and her parents only child.

Many lives were lost that day. All of them had potential, ambitions, dreams, and loved ones who are missing them right now. Let's not forget that.

I miss you, gurl. Daaaaaaamnnnn, Gina!

[img:$uid]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j132/tamarasmith1/gina.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 8/26/10 7:06am]

omg this is heartbreaking So so sorry for your loss.

alphastreet said:

I'm going to sound like I lived under a rock though I didn't, but blackberry and texting was already popular? I didn't have my own cell phone till 2003 and barely used texting and others I knew with phones at the time were being so reserved with theirs. Of course I'm not like that at all anymore though.

I had a cellphone back in 2000

ViintageJunkiie said:

alphastreet said:

I'm going to sound like I lived under a rock though I didn't, but blackberry and texting was already popular? I didn't have my own cell phone till 2003 and barely used texting and others I knew with phones at the time were being so reserved with theirs. Of course I'm not like that at all anymore though.

I had a cellphone back in 2000

my dad had one, I had a motorolla pager in 1999 and 2000 but grew bored of it and stopped using it by 2001.

SCNDLS said:

I found out that Saturday night when a friend called to tell me as my boyfriend and I drove home. We watched CNN all night to get the latest. In those early hours there wasn't much info about the other victims on the plane.

It wasn't until Monday morning when a friend called me asking, "Hey, don't you have a good friend named Gina Smith that works for a record company?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "I just heard on the radio she was on the plane with Aaliyah."

I hadn't talked to Gina in a month or so, and didn't know she was on the plane with them. I called her home number and her fiancee answered. I asked if she was really gone and he confirmed the reports were true. He told me that she wasn't supposed to be on the plane. I believe Fatima had a seat and Gina begged her to switch because she had been traveling with Aaliyah for weeks and wanted to get home to her fiancee.

Gina was a total sweetheart. We met at a crappy customer service job right after we both graduated from college in 1994. My girl was committed to having a career in the industry and paid her dues by working in Promotions at Jive Records where she first met Aaliyah. Gina always had great things to say about her.

When Gina realized she wasn't going to get far in the biz being in Dallas she picked up and moved to LA without a job. She spent her last night in Dallas at my apartment, then rolled out the next morning for the 24 hour drive to LA. The pic below is from that night and it's the only picture I ever took of Gina. I guess we were too busy having a ball to think about snapping pics.

Gina soon got a job at Atlantic Records. When her boss there got a better job at Motown she hired Gina and she moved to NYC. While there, Aaliyah's uncle recruited her to work for Blackground Records based on her good relationship with Aaliyah from Jive.

I miss my girl so much. She had just turned 30 the month before she died. Ironically, her birthday occured in Paris while she was with Aaliyah and they were filming her episode of Diary. They celebrated Gina's 30th in a club in Paris and Aaliyah wanted MTV to feature it in the show. But in true Gina fashion, she declined preferring to remain off camera. After the deaths, MTV provided her family and friends with video from that night though.

Gina was LOVED by all who knew her. A genuinely sweet-natured soul but still ambitious. A rarity in the cut-throat entertainment industry. She died doing what she loved and would have no doubt risen in the business if she had been given the chance. Gina was adopted and her parents only child.

Many lives were lost that day. All of them had potential, ambitions, dreams, and loved ones who are missing them right now. Let's not forget that.

I miss you, gurl. Daaaaaaamnnnn, Gina!

[img:$uid]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j132/tamarasmith1/gina.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 8/26/10 7:06am]

thanks for sharing...

The focus is on Aaliyah all of the time but she wasn't the only one with family and friends.

Just tragic overall.

How precious that you do have that one picture of her.

That's why I tell folks I love often that I do love them very much. You just never know...

I remember when I found out. It was Saturday night/Sunday morning and it came on the radio. I was SHOCKED but it was so out of the blue

bboy87 said:

I remember when I found out. It was Saturday night/Sunday morning and it came on the radio. I was SHOCKED but it was so out of the blue

i feel you. i found out as soon as the press knew..couldnt believe it because i had enjoyed her videos plenty...didnt get to know her overseas till like 1997. First track I ever heard by her was "are you that somebody" played it over and over.