Born on January 16, 1979, today would have been Aaliyah Dana Haughton‘s 32nd birthday.
“I had such a crush on Aaliyah… It was like a little boy crush but it was a true crush,” rapper J. Colereflects on his feelings for the widely admired R&B icon, who tragically died aged 22 in a plane crash in 2001. On hearing the sad news at the time, then-teenage Jermaine was inspired to produce a beat inAaliyah’s honour; “I remember slightly what the beat sounded like,” he says. Watch the interview above to hear his thoughts on Aaliyah. Props to SoulCulture for this great clip.