Dear Pennies & Pens,
So this might sound lame but I name all my playlists. On Sunday, I was going through my iTunes playlists and came across Beats for the Streets. I know that all my fellow Aaliyah fans remember this infamous line from the late singer’s sophomore album One In A Million.
Since this is my favorite Aaliyah album and one of the best album intros, I’ve ever heard, I named my playlist after it. The playlist features a mixture of Aaliyah’s songs from Age Ain’t Nothin But A Number to One In A Million to Aaliyah’s last self titled album Aaliyah.
What Aaliyah Represents to Millennials
Aaliyah represents the 80’s babies and the 90’s kids aka Millennials. The last generation to create real music. When there was no auto-tune meaning if you couldn’t sing or rap, your song didn’t make it to the radio. Aaliyah stood out amongst the rest because she was so original.
It wasn’t just her style, her voice, or her looks. It was the whole package and the fact that there was nothing like it before her. I’m sure she had her influences but Aaliyah was just that Aaliyah.
I remember walking home from school and only listening to Are You that Somebody on repeat. Then there was the dance from that video. How many times did me and my friends imitate that dance? And who would’ve thought a baby’s coos would make or break a song?
Let me interject and say that Aaliyah’s collaborations with Timbaland and Missy Elliot are iconic in every way possible. That’s what happens when a gifted singer works with a talented production team. The music is unforgettable, beautiful, and all around perfect.
Aaliyah Lives on Through Her Music
Thirteen years after Aaliyah’s death, she lives on. Not just through her music, her style, or her influence on contemporary artists but she lives on through the fans whose hearts she captured so many years ago. The 80’s babies, 90’s kids, and the 00’s adults. The Millennial generation.
We’re the ones who tweet/post to Facebook on her birthday, the anniversary of her death, and write blog posts like this one. We remember her because she gave us music that we will always cherish, style to imitate, and most importantly she empowered us.
Through Aaliyah we learned that age ain’t nothin but a number meaning we can take control of our lives no matter what our age. And if you look the Millennial Generation, we are totally limitless.
Walk up to someone in their mid to late 20’s to their early 30’s and you will find that they honestly think they can do anything. To them, their age is just some number that is a numeric digit, it has no real value on their life or what they can do.
The Millennial Lifestyle
Millennials don’t like listening to our elders, it’s not because we don’t think they have good advice but because we feel that their age doesn’t mean they know more than us. Think about how many times a Millennial has been asked by their parents how to send a text message, how to start their Facebook page, or how to tweet.
So if a Millennial has more knowledge on technology and social media than their very own parents, why should they feel that everything their parents says is right? We love our elders but let’s face it, some of their advice and ways of thinking are out of date. So we choose to listen selectively and figure the rest out.
Another thing that’s worth noting is Aaliyah’s age. She dropped her first album as a teen and before her untimely death at 22, she had released three studio albums, as well as appearing in several films.
So if you do all that before the age of 22 and you are icon of a generation, guess what your fans are going to think?! That they can do it too! And that’s where that empowerment we talked about earlier comes from.
To conclude, Aaliyah we miss you and your legacy lives on. And we say to you, “Age Ain’t Nothin But A Number and a Noun Ain’t Nothin’ But A Thang, This Love Thang We Have For You Will Never Change.”
And there it is. de la Penā¦All Pen Everything.
Disclaimer: All images used are for editorial purposes only. de la Pen…All Pen Everything and ISLP, The InkSpot, LLC does not claim ownership of any of these images. Thank you.
