Aaliyah - January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001

Seven years ago on August 25th we lost an angel. Aaliyah was a rising star who was taken from us far too soon. She lives on in her music, videos and movies but of course that’s not enough to erase the pain. Aaliyah had the potential for greatness while remaining down to earth.

I have to admit, when Aaliyah first came out I wasn’t really feeling her. I was in high school and had a friend who was going to school with her. So of course everything out of his mouth was Aaliyah this, Aaliyah that. But Back and Forth and Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number were playing everywhere. With her hometown status, Aaliyah’s first album eventually grew on me. It wasn’t until One In A Million dropped that I became a true fan. Timbaland was still an up and coming producer and graced his now signature sound on Aaliyah’s sophomore album.

This was a difficult mix to make between trying not to put just about every song of Aaliyah’s in it and keeping myself from crying while mixing it. I probably have a story to go with most of her songs. Her talent, style, beauty and grace has left a mark on all of us.

We still miss you Aaliyah, rest in peace Baby Girl.

The Playlist:

1. Turn It Up Intro
2. Try Again
3. Back and Forth
4. If Your Girl Only Knew
5. More Than A Woman
6. Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number
7. Rock The Boat
8. One In A Million
9. I Refuse
10. I Don’t Wanna
11. Are You That Somebody
12. Don’t Know What To Tell Ya
13. We Need A Resolution
14. Hot Like Fire
15. I Care 4 You
16. At Your Best
17. The One I Gave My Heart To
18. Miss You

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In this week’s episode we’re leading off with The Roots Rising Up featuring Wale and Chrisette Michelle. The intro echos how I feel about the radio lately but I’m not going to get started with that, not today anyway. I’ll save that for another day and just enjoy the go-go beat. Remember is on J Dilla’s unreleased Pay Jay cd which hopefully will be released soon. I know posthumous releases can get a bit numerous and dated but this is DIlla. Erykah Badu’s Soldier makes an appearance followed by 4hero’s Stoke Up the Fire. Since I love just about anything with Andre 3000’s name on it we also have John Legend’s new single Green Light. It’s good to hear John Legend switch it up with something more uptempo. Ledisi’s Alright has been getting me through a few things here and there. I’ve been on a dance kick lately and for that there’s Groove Armada and Ananda Project. Cosmic Girl was part of my introduction to Jamiroquai back in my dorm cafeteria working days at MSU (another story for another day). Let’s just say that Traveling Without Moving was the work soundtrack. Closing out this mix are two artists who shouldn’t be slept on and a legend. Rahsaan Patterson’s Feels Good is from his latest cd Wines & Spirits, Al Green’s latest featuring John Legend Stay With Me and finally Lina is sticking around with her latest cd Morning Star. Enjoy this week’s mix.

Last weekend we were hit with the double loss of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes two great entertainers. I’m still at a loss for words even after having a few days to let it sink in. My thoughts and prayers are with they’re families.  TGrundy’s latest podcast is a tribute to Isaac Hayes. Make sure you check it out.

The Playlist:

1. Rising Up - The Roots ft Wale and Chrisette Michelle - Amazon | iTunes
2. Remember - J Dilla ft Bilal
3. Soldier - Erykah Badu - Amazon | iTunes
4. Stoke Up the Fire - 4hero ft Face - iTunes
5. Soul Spaceship - Me’Shell Ndegeocello - Amazon | iTunes
6. Green Light - John Legend ft Andre 3000 - Amazon | iTunes
7. Chaka Khan - Ain’t Nobody - Amazon | iTunes
8. Alright (Matty’s Soulflower Mix) - Ledisi - Amazon | iTunes
9. Love Sweet Sound - Groove Armada ft Candi Staton - Amazon | iTunes
10. Kiss Kiss Kiss (Alternative Mix) - Ananda Project - Amazon | iTunes
11. Cosmic Girl - Jamiroquai - Amazon | iTunes
12. Glow - Kelis ft Raphael Saadiq - Amazon | iTunes
13. Feels Good - Rahsaan Patterson - Amazon | iTunes
14. Stay With Me (By The Sea) - Al Green ft John Legend - Amazon | iTunes
15. I’ll Stick Around - Lina - Amazon |iTunes

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The Playlist:

1. Syleena Johnson - Baby I’m Scared of You
2. Al Green ft Corinne Bailey Rae - Take Your Time
3. Corinne Bailey Rae - Enchantment
4. Raheem DeVaughn - Butterflies
5. Lizz Wright - My Heart
6. Rose Royce - Wishing On A Star
7. Jill Scott - I Keep
8. Maxwell - Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)
9. Teena Marie - If I Were A Bell
10. Teedra Moses - For A Lifetime
11. Erykah Badu - Didn’t Cha Know
12. Rahsaan Patterson - Loving You
13. Peter Hadar - Painted
14. Estelle - No Substitute Love
15. Alice Smith - Desert Song
16. Lina - Walk Away
17. Eric Roberson - We Can’t Pretend
18. D’Angelo - Me And Those Dreaming Eyes
19. Platinum Pied Pipers ft Zeno - Fever

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