Missy Elliott Celebrates 30 Years of Aaliyah’s ‘Futuristic & Distinctive’ Album ‘One In a Million — Billboard

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

Missy Elliott Celebrates 30 Years of Aaliyah’s ‘Futuristic & Distinctive’ Album ‘One In a Million — Billboard | AIPROPX

Three decades later, the late Aaliyah is still One in a Million .

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Grammy-winning hip-hop icon Missy Elliott expressed her love for both Aaliyah and the late artist’s acclaimed 1996 One In a Million LP on its 30th anniversary Thursday (Aug. 13) via X.

“30 years ago, Aaliyah ushered in a new sound that was FUTURISTIC and DISTINCTIVE,” she wrote amid a barrage of emojis, including a dove, praise hands and a hand-heart. “She had her own sound..Her SMOOTH vocals & choreography complemented every beat. ‘One in a Million’wasn’t just an album; it was ART & a MASTERPIECE … A BODY of WORK that, til this day, feels FRESH & NEW, & studied by many great artists today. … Aaliyah legacy is 4ever.”

One In a Million arrived in August 1996 as Aaliyah’s sophomore studio album. Reaching No. 2 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Million served as the follow-up to Aaliyah’s seminal, Soul Train Music Award-nominated debut LP, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number . Her second full-length housed many of her most beloved singles, including the Billboard Hot 100 hits “If Your Girl Only Knew” (No. 11) and “The One I Gave My Heart To” (No. 9). Following its 2021 reissue, Million reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 for the first time, peaking at No. 10.

After primarily working with the now-disgraced R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly on Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number , Aaliyah shifted to a new powerhouse duo to helm her follow-up: Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and Timbaland . Together, the two Virginia-bred sonic architects wrote and produced the majority of the album, alongside additional contributors such as Diane Warren, Rodney Jerkins, Jermaine Dupri, Johntá Austin and, of course, Aaliyah herself. Missy featured on a pair of tracks as a guest artist — album intro “Beats 4 da Streets” and “Ladies in the House — while Timbaland also contributed to the latter track, as well as a “groove mix” of “Hot Like Fire” for the LP’s 2021 reissue.

With One In a Million, Aaliyah, Missy and Timbaland delivered a top-to-bottom classic that inspired a legion of expansive, soulful, indie-adjacent R&B stars who shine across music’s mainstream today. While Aaliyah died in 2001 plane crash, both Missy and Timbaland have kept her legacy alive by celebrating her catalog and remaining committed to their own contemporary projects.