Aaliyah has truly earned her nickname the “Princess of R&B”. Selling over 24 million records worldwide, she has been credited for helping to redefine R&B and hip hop.
Aaliyah was both a successful singer and actress on the verge of superstardom when she tragically died, aged just 22, in a plane crash in 2001.
Aaliyah
She sang professionally from a young age and in 1994 released her first album, Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number when she was just 14 years old. Within 2 years, she released her second album One in a Million. Aaliyah’s music has achieved huge commercial success including several posthumous releases.
By the end of the decade she was working in Hollywood, starring in hit films such as, Romeo Must Die, Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned and the sequel to The Matrix. At the time of her untimely death she had released three albums and had agreed to appear in two more films.
In 1995, Pogus Caesar (Director for Windrush Productions) gained exclusive access to the Amsterdam leg of Aaliyah’s European tour. As well as capturing rare live footage of the concert, Aaliyah and her Father agreed to be interviewed by Caesar and, in a series of intimate conversations, they speak openly about her musical influences, achievements, and her hopes and dreams for the future. This film is particularly poignant in the light of her subsequent early demise.
Aaliyah: Live in Amsterdam at mac, Birmingham
Pogus Caesar’s film Aaliyah Live in Amsterdam captures a star in their ascendancy showing an artist at the peak of her career. It provides the viewer with an insight into Aaliyah, and leaves us wondering just how much she would have achieved had her life not been cut so tragically short.
Aaliyah: Live in Amsterdam at mac, Birmingham
AALIYAH LIVE IN AMSTERDAM: World Premiere. Fri 22 – Sat 23 July, 8pm (12a) 51mins, Director: Pogus Caesar, UK (2010). Tickets for this event cost £8 (£5)
mac Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH. Sales and Information: 0121 446 3232 www.macarts.co.uk