PLAYDAR: Remembering Aaliyah on the 12th Anniversary of Her Death

G Philly's resident DJ Patrick DeMarco cues up a playlist of classics from the R&B chanteuse.

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Yesterday, August 25, marked the 12-year anniversary of the day Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas after filming the video “Rock The Boat.” So I thought I’d kick off this week with a tribute to the sweet-voiced R&B chanteuse.

I’m sure most of you can remember when, in 1994, a 15-year-old Aaliyah burst onto the music scene with plenty of street beats and bass on her debut, Age Ain’t Nothin But A Number. But it wasn’t until 1996, with her second album, One In A Million, that Aaliyah joined forces with Timbaland and Missy Elliot to create a string urban classics like “One In A Million,” “If Your Girl Only Knew” and “Hot Like Fire.” The success of that album established her as a legit artist, and we started to see Aaliyah blossoming before our eyes. In the late-’90s, early-aughts, she took a break from music to star in two feature films, Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned, and returned in 2001 with her spectacular third album, Aaliyah. With that release, her fans got to see an artist who was finally coming into her own, but sadly her life was cut short at the peak of her rise.

Though she’s been gone for 12 years, Aaliyah’s music refuses to get old. The timeless tracks are as perfect today as they were then, ideal for everything from a crazy kiki with the girls and a bass-pumping block party to — perhaps most importantly — a little lovin’ between-the-sheets. Enjoy some of my playlist mainstays below, including the posthumously released “Miss You” featuring Timbaland and DMX and “Enough Said” with vocals later added by Drake.

1. “Back and Forth”

2. “Age Ain’t Nothin But A Number”

3. “One In A Million”

4. “If Your Girl Only Knew”

5. “Try Again”

6. “Rock The Boat”

7. “Miss You” featuring Timbaland and DMX

8. “Enough Said” featuring Drake

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Have music you’d like to see featured on an upcoming Playdar? Email Patrick DeMarco at tintedoz@yahoo.com.