Description

Personnel includes: Aaliyah, Static (vocals); Timbaland (rap vocals); J “Rockstar” Dub (various instruments, programming); Rapture, E. Seats (various instruments); Sean Cruse (guitar); Black Orchestra (strings); Ron Blake (horns); Renzo Pryor (keyboards).
Producers: Timbaland, Rapture, E. Seats, Bud’da, J “Rockstar” Dub.
Engineers include: Jimmy D, Acar Keys, Michael Conrader.
AALIYAH was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. “Rock The Boat” was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
“More Than A Woman” was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Personnel: Sean Cruse (guitar); Ron Blake (horns); J. Dub (programming).
Audio Mixers: Ben Garrison; Jimmy Douglass; Scott Wolfe; Timbaland; Bud’da.
Recording information: Magic Mix Studios, LA, CA; Manhattan Center Studios, NY, NY; Music Grinder Studios, LA, CA; Music Grinder, Hollywood, CA; Sing sing Studios, Melbourne, Australia; Sony Studios, NY, NY; Soundtracks Studios, NY, NY; Westlake Studios, LA, CA.
Photographers: Albert Watson ; Jeff Dunas; Jonathan Mannion.
Aaliyah’s self-titled third album comes some five years after her sophomore effort ONE IN A MILLION. . The singer has obviously put her time out of the spotlight to good use. She’s joined here by a few old friends, including Timbaland (a co-producer of her previous album who also shares some production credits here).
For the most part this is a downtempo set, typified by the Missy Elliot-penned “I Care 4 U,” a slice of old-school R&B that displays Aaliyah’s sultry, fragile vocals to good advantage, and the Latin-inflected “Read Between the Lines.” There’s more depth to Aaliyah than her stock diva cover photos might suggest, as evidenced by the ambitious opus “I Refuse,” which brings all the contradictions of a contemporary relationship into sharp relief, and the end-of-the affair “Those Were the Days,” the lyrical and musical content of which reveal the singer’s darker, more interesting side.