Today’s From The Vault pick salutes the enduring impact of an artist that sadly left us way too soon – Aaliyah and her break-out hit ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.’
The title track from her 1994 debut album, ‘Age’ was serviced as the project’s third single and like the majority of its parent LP was produced by R. Kelly.
Interestingly, it was the artist’s first single to miss the Billboard Top 10 peaking at #75 on the Hot 100 and #32 in the UK.
In retrospect, because of its subject matter and lyrics about a girl wanting to pursue a relationship with an older man (and the fact that Kelly wrote the words to the song), it was deemed controversial. No doubt because of the singer and the producer’s relationship — but that’s another day another conversation.
Millicent Shelton was in charge of the song’s visualization and delivered a vintage 90s clip, one that resonates and reminds why the era is helmed as golden by so many.
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Boasting a stellar debut LP, which displayed a musical maturity well beyond her youth, Aaliyah indeed proved to the world that, sometimes, age can quite literally be just a number.
One thing’s for sure, the singer embodied the concept, as she has accomplished way more between 14 and 22 than most of her peers have in the length and breadth of their careers.
Long live her impact!
