R&B singer Aaliyah perishes in plane crash
Grammy-nominated performer had recently begun acting, was to star in ‘Matrix 2’
The Associated Press R&B singer and actress Aaliyah arrives at New York's Paris Theater earlier this month.
By Chris Moriates
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Actress and R&B singer Aaliyah died Saturday evening in a small plane crash in the Bahamas, according to CNN.
The 22-year-old singer was slated to co-star in the sequel to the sci-fi blockbuster “The Matrix” next summer.
The plane was a Cessna 402, which was owned by Skystream. According to reports, the plane traveled about 200 feet, then crashed into marshy land.
“I was really shocked and surprised by the news,” said Gita Reddy, a fourth-year political science student at UCLA. “I listened to her music all through high school and I liked her a lot. I didn’t think that (the news of the accident) was true at first.”
Aaliyah Haughton was born in Brooklyn, N.Y,. on Jan. 16, 1979. Her song “Try Again” earned her a Grammy nomination this year for “Best Female R&B Vocalist.”
“She was like one of my daughters; she was one of the sweetest girls in the world,” said Quincy Jones, 68, the Grammy-winning producer, arranger and composer, reported the Associated Press. “She vacationed with me and my family together in Fiji. I loved her and respected her, and I am absolutely devastated.”
Aaliyah struck a licensing deal as a teenager after her uncle, Barry Hankerson, formed Blackground Records.
Her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But Number,” went gold when she was just 14. She later married her producer, R&B singer R. Kelly.
She recently starred in “Queen of the Damned,” the latest Anne Rice vampire thriller.
“I was shocked by the news, but I didn’t really listen to her music,” said Melissa Zimmermann, a third-year art student at UCLA. “But that kind of stuff happens to rock stars and musicians all the time, so maybe I was a little more indifferent about it than I should have been.”
According to reports on the official Power 106 radio station (105.9 FM) Web site, Aaliyah was in the Bahamas filming a new music video.
With reports from the Associated Press.
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