If Aaliyah never died, Beyonce would not be who she is today, and the music game would be entirely differently. lets not forget Damon Dash was CEO & owner of Jay-Z and the roca-fella brand. Jay-Z broke his hold from Damon Dash in 2002. a year after Aaliyah died. Beyonce was not even known as a beyonce back then, she was the blonde head chick from destiny's child. Aaliyah's death opened the door for Beyonce to take the seat of power that Aaliyah was already in. Regardless if she reached icon status Aaliyah was in that seat. Lets not forget before her death Aaliyah was set to appear in matrix sequels, and reading tons of scripts for more blockbuster hits. Beyonce still struggles as a actor and can never be a natural easy going actor Aaliyah was. The comparison between the two is just idiotic. Lets face it Aaliyah legacy is still more legenedary than Beyonce's. People like Ashanti, Ciara, and Rihanna prolly would have never been given a record deal if Aaliyah was still here. She was only 22, and was 8 yrs strong in the industry. The fact remains that she was taken away from us, by a careless decision she made, when she decided to ignore the pilot's warning, and took a chance that took her life. Right after Aaliyah demise. Beyonce struck out, and changed the game forever. It's just a huge void, that music suffers still to this day, and it never amazes me how even after all this time. Aaliyah is still more relevant than ever.