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Aaliyah death dream6/12/2023 Journey to the pastĪaliyah poses for a photo backstage at Madison Square Garden for a 1995 benefit concert in New York City. “Beyond the music, there’s a lot of mystery there,” he added. ![]() She just exuded this cool I can’t really explain.” “I’m the same age as Monica, Brandy, and all of them … and just seemed to be the most cutting-edge of them all. Steven McEnrue, general manager of the Metropolitan Bar hosting the Aaliyah drag show, remembered what it was like to be a teen, listening to all those singular-named artists on the radio in the 1990s. For others, it allows space for reassessing a brief but spectacular career - and where it could’ve gone. For many music fans, it may bring closure to a chapter that has lacked an ending for years. It fills a gap: Before, “essential” Aaliyah playlists on Spotify felt so non-essential without selections from the genre-shattering work of “One in a Million” - featuring collaborations with Missy Elliott and Timbaland, relative newcomers at the time - and her third and final album “Aaliyah,” released just weeks before she died in a plane crash at 22. But now, 20 years after Aaliyah’s death, Blackground Records plans to release all her albums to streaming services, starting Aug. Her full discography has never been available on streaming platforms. ![]() To be an Aaliyah admirer has meant safeguarding what’s left of her legacy all this time. At least in conversation with Dèvo Monique and other fans, Aaliyah never left. And drag queens, in Brooklyn and beyond, are paying tribute. R&B singers, in diapers at her peak, now interpolate her style. The singer’s image appears on retro-styled T-shirts everywhere from Bushwick to the ‘burbs. Today, it can feel like Aaliyah is back on the scene. She “was really pushing the idea forward not only music could go, but where R&B music could go.” Like, I love Beyoncé, and I love Destiny’s Child, but Aaliyah was trying new harmonies and new production styles,” they said. “I don’t think any brown girls were doing what Aaliyah was doing. “My favorite thing about Aaliyah is that she was always looking to the future,” they said. But they also refer to her as someone who was “always looking to the future.”ĭrag performer Dèvo Monique is one of several New York City performers who will be paying tribute to Aaliyah this month in a drag show that honors various aspects of the singer’s career. In describing Aaliyah, Dèvo Monique sometimes speaks of her in the present tense - she is known for sporty looks, they said. “Or do you do the iconic sparkly bras and the latex pants?” So how do you mix sports and futuristic-like looks? Do you do like a complete Tommy Hilfiger-like look?” Dèvo Monique said, referencing the singer’s penchant for pairing the American designer’s crop tops with baggy jeans. “Aaliyah is known for sporty and also for being very futuristic. But Aaliyah is not known for bouffant wigs or beautiful gowns. Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and “Think,” too, are drag staples. ![]() Diana Ross’ LGBTQ anthem “I’m Coming Out” was born after producer and musician Nile Rodgers’ trip to a New York City gay club, where he saw numerous drag queens dressed in costumes inspired by Ross, performing her hits. To Dèvo Monique, it shouldn’t be something that replicates one of the late singer-actress’ iconic looks - maybe her vampire drag in “Queen of the Damned,” or an all-white leather pantsuit à la her “More Than a Woman” video - but something she’d wear today if she were still alive.Ī hallmark of drag is paying tribute to Black women from Detroit. The look, which they are keeping secret until the big night, will be unveiled at Metropolitan Bar, where several New York City drag queens will take the stage in various states of Aaliyah dress. In the run-up to an Aaliyah-themed drag show at a Brooklyn gay bar this month, drag performer Dèvo Monique is concentrating on “commissioning a look.”
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