The year was 1996, Urban R&B and Hip Hop had really gone from being in the backround with Gangsta Rap and New Jack Swing to the top of the mainstream charts with a more commercial sound that appealed for a broader audience. Blackstreet, Mary J Blige, Fugees, R. Kelly and Puff Daddy. Aaliyah was 17 at the time and almost about to graduate from highschool. She already had one album in her bag "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" produced and written by R. Kelly that she also ended up marrying, but since she was underage the marraige was shortly annuled and they both went seperate ways. On Aaliyah's second album titled "One In A Million" she teamed up with a bunch of diffrent producers, which was quite rare at the time. Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins and the completely unknown producer Timothy Mosley, better known as Timbaland. Mosley had previously worked with Missy Elliott's band "Sista" but with limited resources and not much success. He and Missy (who hadn't released her debut album yet) teamed up together and wrote/produced 7 of the songs of Aaliyah's second album. The result would be revolutionary and differ from anything that was on the radio at the time. Timbaland created a unique sound that would take R&B closer to mainstream with "stuttering bass-heavy bounce beats offset resounding high-end synth stabs" and often making cameos on his productions but no sampling, everything was created by himself. All this was known simply as the "Timbaland Sound" and 10 years later he would not only be a super-producer but the greatest procucer of his generation. Aaliyah had also matured, at only 17 she sound much older and experienced and she's was now a complete singer that can stand on her own feet and the overall result is a more satisfying effort then her debut. It's also fulpacked with hits, apart from the wonderful title track produced by Timbaland, he also produced the hits "Hot Like Fire", "If Your Girl Only Knew" and "4 Page Letter". A Diane Warren penned ballad called "The One I Gave My Heart To" reached top 10 on the charts. Other then that, we'll also find some fine remakes, like Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" with old skool rapper Slick Rick and Isley Brothers "Choosey Lover", later used by R.Kelly and Nas for a remix for "Street Dreams" and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkin's "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and Dupri's "I Gotcha Back". Intro and Outro included you get 17 songs of class and depth, and that is more then anyone could ask for, especially from someone so young. "One in A Million" is equally good as her third eponymous album and should end up in any music fan's collection. Sadly Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 and the music world lost one of the most talented, beautiful and charismatic singers and I often wonder what she would have amount to in the future, it really looked so bright for her. Looking back 10 years in time I can clearly say that this album was something above the ordinary. R&B came closer to mainstream music, production was starting to have a bigger impact in music and Aaliyah made the best R&B album of the year together with Ginuwine's "The Bachelor" that was produced by...You know who.


Rest in peace Aaliyah.