Editing Aaliyah (section)

===Musical style===
From the very beginning, she opted "for an edgier, more mature sound", and her songs were often uptempo and at the same time often dark, revolving around "matters of the heart".<ref name=usatoday01/><ref name="Aaliyah review">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,168502~4~~aaliyah,00.html|title=Aaliyah – Music Review|last=Seymour|first=Craig|date=June 23, 2001|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112200400/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,168502~4~~aaliyah,00.html|archive-date=January 12, 2012|access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> She "easily straddled the hip-hop and pop worlds, never projecting the frilliness of her ingénue peers".<ref name=usatoday01/> After her R. Kelly–produced debut album, Aaliyah worked with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, whose productions were more [[electronic music|electronic]].<ref name="Needham">{{cite journal|last=Needham|first=Alex|date=July 7, 2001|title=Who's That Girl?|journal= NME |location=London|pages=25–26}}</ref> The duo "mixed choppy, nervous rhythms over loops of computer-generated backing tracks, and incorporating harmonies which – within the genre's limited horizons – seemed daring".<ref name="Telegraph" /> They also created, the "Freeze-and-stop style of singing on top of bass-heavy instrumentals" which became Aaliyah's signature style.<ref name=press01/> In 2001, Aaliyah called her sound "street but sweet", pairing feminine vocals with a gritty urban rhythm track.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,168489,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308174828/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,168489,00.html|archive-date=March 8, 2008|title=Street But Sweet|last=Farley|first=Christopher John|date=July 22, 2001|magazine=Time|access-date=May 21, 2009}}</ref> In another interview she further spoke about her artistry, saying, "I love to fuse other types of music with my own".<ref name=yahoo01>{{cite web |last=Lorez|first=Jeff|date=July 5, 2001 |url=http://music.uk.launch.yahoo.com/read/interview/12043580 |title=Killer Queen|publisher=[[Yahoo! Music]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210044259/http://music.uk.launch.yahoo.com/read/interview/12043580|archive-date=February 10, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2022 }}</ref> She explored a wide range of genres such as [[contemporary R&B|R&B]],<ref name=vibe96>{{cite journal|last=Ex|first=Kris|date=December 1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QSwEAAAAMBAJ&q=inking+a+distribution+deal+in+1993+aaliyahl&pg=PA126|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210023018/https://books.google.com/books?id=QSwEAAAAMBAJ&q=inking+a+distribution+deal+in+1993+aaliyahl&pg=PA126#v=snippet&q=inking%20a%20distribution%20deal%20in%201993%20aaliyahl&f=false|archive-date=February 10, 2022|title=Got To Give It Up|journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|location=New York|page=126|access-date=June 21, 2022|quote=Aaliyah's fresh sound is a brick-layered foundation with a rubbery synth-bass that incorporates actual old-school funk and R&B.}}</ref><ref name=NyDaily2016>{{cite web|first=Brian|last=Lisi|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/aaliyah-tv-appearances-15th-anniv-death-article-1.2765412|title=A look at Aaliyah's first and last TV appearances on the 15th anniversary of her tragic death|date=August 25, 2016|magazine=[[New York Daily News]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|quote=Only 22 years old when a plane carrying her and eight others crashed shortly after takeoff, Aaliyah Dana Haughton has been heralded for not just amassing major achievements at such a young age, but for incorporating elements of R&B, pop and hip-hop into her music in a way that would define the sound of an entire decade.|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526012805/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/aaliyah-tv-appearances-15th-anniv-death-article-1.2765412|url-status=live}}</ref> [[pop music|pop]],<ref name=NyDaily2016/><ref name=Billboard2009/> [[hip hop music|hip hop]],<ref name=Billboard2009/><ref name=billboard1998/> [[funk]],<ref name=vibe96/><ref name=billboard1998>{{cite magazine|volume=110|issue=22|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQ4EAAAAMBAJ&q=aaliyah+are+you+that+somebody+review&pg=PA27|title=Reviews & Previews – Singles|last=Flick|first=Larry|date=May 30, 1998|magazine= Billboard |access-date=June 13, 2022|quote=This time, she fronts the first single from "Dr. Doolittle" and it's a welcome return to her Funk/Hip-Hop roots.}}</ref> [[Soul music|soul]],<ref name=Billboard2009>{{cite web|first=David J.|last=Prince|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-decade-in-music-top-50-moments-page-5-266327/|title=The Decade in Music: Top 50 Moments|date=December 23, 2009|magazine= Billboard |access-date=May 26, 2022|quote=With Timbaland and Missy Elliott in her production corner, the 22-year-old was a muse who revolutionized R&B with her honey-coated voice and sultry mix of pop, soul and hip-hop.|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519164124/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-decade-in-music-top-50-moments-page-5-266327/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[dance-pop]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=205903|last=Russell|first=Baillie|date=August 8, 2001|title=Aaliyah: Aaliyah|newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211000129/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=205903 |access-date=June 13, 2022|archive-date=December 11, 2015 |quote=As its 15 tracks thump, click and stutter with inventive, state-of-the-art dancepop, Aaliyah's voice weaves through the sparse but punchy arrangements with a mix of sultriness.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=King|first=Jason|date=February 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA136|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130203627/https://books.google.com/books?id=ziYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA136|archive-date=November 30, 2021|title=Revolutions|journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|location=New York|page=136|access-date=June 21, 2022|quote=Although I Care 4 U is missing such beloved tracks as "If Your Girl Only Knew" and "Rock the Boat", it still gathers some of the most adventurous dance-pop of the last 10 years.}}</ref> Altogether, Aaliyah's music can be described as [[alternative R&B]], [[progressive soul]], and [[neo soul]], according to ''Time''{{'s}} Farley.<ref>{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=54|Ref=none}}</ref>

Aaliyah released "musically risky singles into a notoriously fickle pop market", without being "concerned about conforming to the stereotypes of the marketplace".<ref name=princess2001>{{cite web| url= https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/aug/31/artsfeatures.popandrock|title=The princess of risk|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=August 31, 2001|access-date=June 16, 2022|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616084608/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/aug/31/artsfeatures.popandrock|url-status=live}}</ref> Her songs "gracefully walk a line between commerciality and experimentation".<ref name=princess2001/> Aaliyah's records tend to have a "crisp production" and "[[staccato]] arrangements" that "extend genre boundaries" while containing "old-school" soul music.<ref name="HardyRS" /> Kelefah Sanneh of ''The New York Times'' called her "a digital diva who wove a spell with ones and zeroes", and writes that her songs comprised "simple vocal riffs, repeated and refracted to echo the manipulated loops that create digital rhythm", as Timbaland's "computer-programmed beats fitted perfectly with her cool, breathy voice to create a new kind of electronic music."<ref name="Sanneh">{{cite news|last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=September 2, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/arts/a-pioneer-briefly-of-a-new-sound.html |title=A Pioneer, Briefly, Of a New Sound |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108045550/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/arts/a-pioneer-briefly-of-a-new-sound.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

In ''[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), Keith Harris said of her lyrical content that "When it came to sexual availability, she was between En Vogue maliciously taunting 'You're never gonna get it' and Tweet blankly cooing 'Oops, there goes my shirt.'"<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Keith |last=Harris |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/aaliyah/biography |title=Aaliyah Biography |access-date=May 22, 2022 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103150643/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/aaliyah/biography |archive-date=January 3, 2007 }}</ref> Lyrically, "Her first two albums carefully toed the line between adolescence and adulthood, displaying a woman exploring the terrain of love, trust, and lust; one who exuded a playful innocence while hinting at a more sultry side."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/music/the-best-aaliyah-songs/are-you-that-somebody|title=25 Best Aaliyah Songs of All Time|access-date=May 22, 2022|work=[[Complex Networks|Complex]]|archive-date=May 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522142712/https://www.complex.com/music/the-best-aaliyah-songs/are-you-that-somebody|url-status=live}}</ref> Aaliyah did not usually write her own lyrics.<ref name="The Independent" /> The only time she had a hand in writing is on the song  "Death of a Playa" from the "Hot Like Fire" single (1997).<ref name="buffalo2001">{{cite web |first=Craig |last=Seymour |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/aaliyah-a-tribute/article_3f5a163e-c9ed-5f2a-bf82-43c0dcbbcff6.html |title=Aaliyah, A Tribute |publisher=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=August 31, 2001 |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524065316/https://buffalonews.com/news/aaliyah-a-tribute/article_3f5a163e-c9ed-5f2a-bf82-43c0dcbbcff6.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 }}</ref> She co-wrote that song with her brother Rashad Haughton, and "it reflects Aaliyah's dark perspective on romance".<ref name="buffalo2001"/> Of her role in crafting her music, Aaliyah said, "I like to have the final say but I was trained as a singer, actress and dancer, the interpreter, bringing other people's words to life. I need the songs to reflect me in one way or another".<ref name="The Independent" /> 

As her albums progressed, writers felt that Aaliyah matured, calling her progress a "near-flawless declaration of strength and independence".<ref name="HardyRS" /><ref name="Farley p6">{{harvnb|Farley|2002|p=6|Ref=none}}</ref> [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] noted that her music was "evolving from the punchy pop-influenced hip hop and R&B to a more mature, introspective sound", on her third album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101199&page=1|title=Pop Star Aaliyah Dead in Plane Crash|date=August 27, 2001|magazine=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531013155/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101199&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[NME]]'' called her third album "radical" and said that it was "intended to consolidate her position as U.S. R&B's most experimental artist".<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Bychawski |url=https://www.nme.com/news/aaliyah/8254 |title=Aaliyah Polishes A Third! |work= NME |access-date=December 14, 2015 |date=June 21, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415010614/https://www.nme.com/news/aaliyah/8254 |archive-date=April 15, 2016 }}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] described her album ''[[Aaliyah (album)|Aaliyah]]'' as "a statement of maturity and a stunning artistic leap forward", and called it one of the strongest urban soul records of its time. She portrayed "unfamiliar sounds, styles and emotions", but managed to please critics with the contemporary sound it contained.<ref name="eponymous">{{cite web|url=https://allmusic.com/album/aaliyah-r539210|title=Aaliyah – Aaliyah |last= Erlewine| first= Stephen Thomas |website=AllMusic|access-date=January 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210075745/http://allmusic.com/album/aaliyah-r539210|archive-date=December 10, 2010}}</ref> Ernest Hardy of ''Rolling Stone'' felt that Aaliyah was displaying stronger technique, giving her best vocal performances on the album.<ref name="HardyRS">{{cite magazine| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/123191/review/6067616/aaliyah|title=Aaliyah – Aaliyah – Review|last=Hardy|first=Ernest|date=August 2, 2001|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224154411/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/123191/review/6067616/aaliyah|archive-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref>