Better Known As Aaliyah

My grandmother called me on Saturday with breaking news she thought would delight me: “Jada! Lifetime is going to show the Aaliyah movie.” Knowing that I’m a lifelong fan, she didn’t want me to miss a minute. But sadly I knew that every minute had already missed the mark in messy production.

There’s no need for me to note all of the missteps from Lifetime’s Aaliyah biopic, because social media has already done so. Glaring omissions of “Are You That Somebody” and “One In A Million,” two groundbreaking milestones for the superstar are just lazy. But the McDonald’s express treatment of one of the most iconic artists in my life saddens me. Here’s an entertainer who quietly rocked the state of hip-hop and R&B in just seven years. And she did it with only three albums and two films. With no social media and very few headlines. She combined a sexiness and elegance that made every girl want to be her, and every guy gush at the thought of even speaking to her.

Aaliyah completely influenced my teen years. As an only child who would get unworthy comparisons from friends and boys in the neighborhood, she became my sister from another mister. I had to straighten my hair when I was 14, and lived in flannels and baggy jeans through high school. I remember how proud I felt when she shed her tomboy image at the Oscar’s to perform “Journey To The Past.” I also remember waking up to the news that she had died in 2001, and the pain millions felt for someone they never knew, but who became family just the same.

Hopefully done the right way down the line, I have no doubt that Aaliyah’s story can be a major blockbuster, similar to the way Jennifer Lopez captured Selena back in 1997. But the film’s magic had everything to do with the fact that the Quintanilla family was consulted and onboard with the film. As a result the late star was introduced to a completely new audience and has become a pop culture staple posthumously.

The Lifetime audience was introduced to a watered down version of someone who shaped me. Let’s leave the stories of our icons to true storytellers.