I Refuse

I Refuse

Aaliyah is the eponymous third and final studio album by American R&B recording artist Aaliyah, released on July 17, 2001, by Blackground Records and Virgin Records. After releasing her 1996 album One in a Million and raising her profile with hit soundtrack singles, Aaliyah started working on the album in 1998 and sought to schedule its recording around her developing film career. She resumed its recording in 2000 at Sing Sing Studios in Australia, where she shot her role for the 2002 film Queen of the Damned during the day and recorded songs at night. Aaliyah worked primarily with Blackground's in-house crew of writers and producers, including Bud'da, J. Dub, Rapture, and Eric Seats, as well as longtime collaborator Timbaland.

A neo soul album, Aaliyah has a diverse musical style that incorporates contemporary urban genres such as funk, hip hop, and soul, as well as electronica, Middle-Eastern, alternative rock, and Latin elements. Its production is characterized by synthesizer melodies, fragmented beats, distorted guitar, and eccentricly manipulated vocals and song structures. The album's lyrics explore the complexities of romantic relationships and stages of love, with perspectives that veer between a sexy, empowered female and a scorned lover. Most of the album was written by lyricist Static, who shared a close friendship and strong rapport with Aaliyah. She viewed the album as a reflection of herself as both a young adult and a matured vocalist.

Upon its release, Aaliyah received very positive reviews from music critics, who praised its creative R&B production, Static's songwriting, and Aaliyah's vocal performance. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, but sold diminishingly afterwards. With Blackground and Virgin wanting a high charting single to increase sales, Aaliyah shot a music video for the single "Rock the Boat" in the Bahamas, but died in a plane crash on a return flight to the United States on August 25, 2001. After her death, the album's sales skyrocketed and propelled it to number one on the Billboard 200. As of December 2009, it has sold 2.6 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Aaliyah was released during a period of peak activity in R&B in the summer of 2001 and, since its initial reception, has been cited by critics as one of the best R&B albums of its time.