1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Hey guys, our Aliyah episode this week is a story 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: of the tragic R and B singer's death and the 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 1: tragedy that has been recorded to history. That is, this 4 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: isn't a story that dives deep into the recent wild 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 1: allegations involving Sean Dittycomb's and jay Z relative to Alia's death. 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 1: Those rumors have not been proven out by anything factual yet. 7 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: If you want more in the validity of these allegations, 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:24,799 Speaker 1: I'm going to get into it a little bit in 9 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: this upcoming after party. That'll be the next bonus episode 10 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: that drops right after this one in your Feet. In 11 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: the meantime, here's our story on Aaliyah and her relationship 12 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: with R Kelly and her demise. Hope you dig it. 13 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 2: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 14 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 2: Please check the show notes for more information. 15 00:00:47,560 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is the 16 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: story of a pop star, an incredible talent, Aliyah, a 17 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: talent who's creative fire burned from deep within. But it's 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: also the story of R Kelly and an illegal marriage. 19 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: It's about drugs, corruption, It's about wild a list, accusatory 20 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: conspiracy theories, and it's a story about a fiery crash 21 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: and about great music. Unlike that music I played for 22 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: you at the top of the show that wasn't great music. 23 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: That was a preset loop for my melotron called Instant 24 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: Theme Song MK one. I played you that loop because 25 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 1: I can't afford the rights to fall In by Lysia Keys. 26 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 27 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: Empire state of Mind Cheese? Could I afford it? Because 28 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: that was the number one song in America on August 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: twenty fifth, two thousand and one, And that was the 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: day that a plane carrying Aaliyah and eight others crashed 31 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: shortly after takeoff in the baham was killing all on 32 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:09,399 Speaker 1: board on this episode in illegal marriage, drugs, corruption, conspiracy theories, 33 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:14,359 Speaker 1: a fiery crash, and a Leah, I'm Jake Brennan in 34 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: This is Disgraced Land, August twenty fifth, two thousand and one. 35 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,519 Speaker 1: If only the mind of twenty two year old Elijah 36 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,959 Speaker 1: Houghton was as clear as the blue skies here in 37 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: the Bahamas. The sun, the sand, the weather, it was 38 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: all perfect. Everything else was well, it was complicated. Alia 39 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: didn't want to be here in the first place, which 40 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,920 Speaker 1: sounds crazy because here, specifically in the Applco Islands, was 41 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: more than one person's idea of paradise. For Aliyah, it 42 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: was work leading a team of dancers on a catamaran 43 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 1: out in the ocean wrapping the video shoot for Rock 44 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: the Boat, the second single from her recently released self 45 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: titled album, her third album overall. But though it was work, 46 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: it wasn't Aliah's vision. The vision belonged to Hype Williams, 47 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: arguably the most in demand director when it came to 48 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: music videos for the hottest hip hop and R and 49 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: B artists. When Hype insisted they leave Miami for the Bahamas, 50 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: Aliah expressed her displeasure. She hated flying, She hated planes. 51 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: She was the utmost professional despite her personal reservations. She 52 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: wasn't going to rock the book, Sorry how to do it? 53 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: There were fights to fight in hills to die on, 54 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 1: and Alia knew that this wasn't one of them. She 55 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: got her nerves under control, got on the plane and 56 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: went to the Bahamas, all the while maintaining that quiet 57 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: reserve demeanor. She was known for the same demeanor that 58 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: simmered on low behind a pair of dark shades or 59 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: her trademark peekaboo hairstyle, those long strands covering one of 60 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: her eyes like Veronica Lake, her mother's favorite actress. Under 61 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: that quiet reserve, however, was the fire, or so said 62 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: Ed McMahon, one time host of Star Search, a hugely 63 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: popular TV talent show in the nineteen eighties and nineties. 64 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: When Aleah appeared on the show in nineteen ninety to 65 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: perform Rogers and Heart's My Funny Valentine at just ten 66 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: years old, Ed McMahon, the long time Tonight's Show sidekick 67 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: to Johnny Carson, saw the fire in Aliah before she 68 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: even sang a note. You weren't taught it, You didn't 69 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: get it from your parents, McMahon said. The fire burned 70 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: inside you, independent of outside influence. For Leah Houghton, that 71 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: fire burned bright not Her parents knew this. They worked 72 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: tirelessly to secure opportunities for their daughter to perform Her 73 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: AUNTI Gladys knew this too. That's Gladys As and Gladys 74 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: Knight in the Pips. By the way, Elia's aunt by 75 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: marriage to her mom's brother. And it was that famous 76 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: aunt who brought her eleven year old niece up on 77 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: stage to sing with her for all five of her 78 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: sold out shows at Bally's in Las Vegas. It sounds 79 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,239 Speaker 1: weird in twenty twenty four to say that Aliyah was groomed, 80 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: but that's exactly what was happening throughout her childhood. She 81 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: was a megawatt talent from a very young age who 82 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: was groomed by everyone around her in order to make 83 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: her a star. Of course, there are gross connotations with 84 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: the word groomed in for good reason because the next 85 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: person a groom Aliah, after Star Search and her parents 86 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: and her AUNTI Gladys, was R and B superstar R Kelly, who, 87 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: when a Leah was just fourteen years old, a freshman 88 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: at Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts 89 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: majoring in d chants, played the part of predator spent 90 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: Ghali as Aliah's professional career was just taking off. R 91 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: Kelly wrote and produced Aliah's first record, which yes, bears 92 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: the unfortunate title age Ain't Nothing but a Number. Unfortunate 93 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: because again, Aliyah was fourteen and r Kelly was twenty seven. 94 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: If the lyrical content R Kelly was getting Lea to 95 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: sing wasn't troublesome enough, the fact that the Teenager and 96 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: the Grown Man were much more than a musical partnership. 97 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: Apps fusing neutely was just a few months after the 98 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: album's release. In the summer of nineteen ninety four, R 99 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: Kelly secretly married Aaliyah, who was then fifteen, just fifteen, 100 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: and he did so by paying off a state employee 101 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: to create a fake ID that showed that she was eighteen. 102 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: But as our guy Kurt Loder pointed out when he 103 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: broke the news on MTV, R Kelly wasn't fooling anyone 104 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: because earlier that year, Alia was dropped from the Budweiser 105 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: Superfestour precisely because she was a minor. Based on what 106 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: we now know about R Kelly in his decades of 107 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: sexual abuse in child pornography, one can only imagine that 108 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: what went on between him and his child bride behind 109 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: closed doors was I don't even want to go there. 110 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: If you're looking for a deeper dive into that while saga, 111 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: check out our episode on R Kelly in the Disgrace 112 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: and Archive. But getting away from the story here, at 113 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: least one of our Kelly's victims has claimed that he 114 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: got Aleah pregnant and made her get an abortion during 115 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: their time as husband and wife, but Aliah wasn't talking 116 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: about it, not then and not ever once her parents 117 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: stepped in to annul the marriage in February of nineteen 118 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: ninety five. Whatever spell r Kelly had cast over an 119 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: innocent and impressionable Aliyah was broken. She didn't just walk away. 120 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: She denied the whole thing it ever happened, not because 121 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: it didn't happen for real, because she was moving on. 122 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: She didn't wish death upon anyone, but still keep that 123 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: man away from her, which was easier said than done. 124 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,559 Speaker 1: R Kelly's crimes are practically being perpetrated out in the open, 125 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: but no one was calling him on it. Alia's own uncle, 126 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: Barry Hankerson, the one who was married to Gladys Knight, 127 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: was a music business insider who continued to work with 128 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: R Kelly for years after his niece's a legal marriage. 129 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: And then there was Hype Williams, the director of Alia's 130 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: Rocked the Boat music video Here in the Bahamas. Hype 131 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: worked with everyone in hip hop and R and B, 132 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: including R Kelly, with whom Hype had made and was 133 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: continuing to make a ton of content. Aliyah was a 134 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: force of nature, street but sweet, as she called herself. 135 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: But her power wasn't to wipe r Kelly from the 136 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: face of the earth. It was to lift herself up. 137 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,839 Speaker 1: And she did this by following her own gut and 138 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: by doing things her way, taking a chance on an 139 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,839 Speaker 1: unknown and unorthodox music production duo. More on that in 140 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: a bit, performing all her own stunts in her movie debut, 141 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: Romeo Must Die. A month of training to learn one scene. 142 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: She went the distance, literally all the way to Australia 143 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: to film her next movie, Queen of the dand while 144 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,599 Speaker 1: simultaneaniously recording tracks for her new album at Night. She 145 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: was creatively reborn as an inspired multi hyphen and she 146 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: worked her ass off for it. But right now Aliyah 147 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,560 Speaker 1: was done with work and she wanted to go home. 148 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: She stood anxiously at the Marsh Harbor Airport there in 149 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: the Bahamas, the island breeze blowing through her hair, and 150 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: she stared down the cessin of twin engine plane that 151 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,439 Speaker 1: was currently being loaded up with luggage. It would soon 152 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: bring her back to the mainland, back to normalcy, back 153 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: to her boyfriend, Damon Dash, co founder with Jay Z 154 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 1: of Rockefeller Records. This fucking plane though it wasn't big 155 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: like the one that had brought her out here. It 156 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: was a puddle jumping little piece of shit. We're supposed 157 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: to carry her and her bodyguard and her makeup artist, 158 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: two hairstylists, a Virgin Records executive, two employees of Blackground, 159 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: her uncle's record label, and the pilot, plus all their stuff. 160 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: She worried it was just too much, too heavy. She 161 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,559 Speaker 1: called Dame and he told her to wait. He'd send 162 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: a private jet tomorrow to bring her home. She wasn't sure. 163 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: She just wanted to see him, and both of their 164 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,559 Speaker 1: schedules were crazy over the next few weeks. If she 165 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: wanted some quality time with him, she had to go now. 166 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: She was conflicted, exhausted. The baggage handlers packing the plane 167 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: hurt her concerns over the way. They said they'd remove 168 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: some of the stuff and lighting it up. That was helpful, 169 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: but now she had a headache. She just needed to rest. 170 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,719 Speaker 1: Someone offered her a pill, yes, please, anything to take 171 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,199 Speaker 1: the edge off. One of the baggage handlers, just a 172 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: kid really helping out with the family business, handed her 173 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: a glass of water to wash the pill down. He 174 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: was like thirteen, fourteen years old. Something like that reminded 175 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 1: her of when she was that age, figuring it all out, 176 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:46,319 Speaker 1: making mistakes, finding her way street. But sweet it was 177 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: in minutes she was out. The dream she had was 178 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: the same one she'd been having all week. It was dark, 179 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 1: pitch black. She couldn't see anything. She was scared. She 180 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: was running. Something was after her, chasing her. Her heart 181 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: was pounding, her legs ached, and then suddenly she took off. 182 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: She was flying. She felt free, as weightless as that 183 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:21,360 Speaker 1: cessna was loaded. She didn't want it to end here, asleep, dreaming, escaping, 184 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: going to a place where no one could reach her. 185 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: Aliyah was untouchable. Life never plays out the way any 186 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: of us want or expect it to. There's an old 187 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: Yiddish saying that basically says man plans and God laughs. Or, 188 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: as John Lennon put it in the last Great Songs 189 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: that he ever wrote, life's what happens when you're busy 190 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 1: making other plans. For Leah Hottmer, life happened all the time, 191 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: but never in order a chronological order. That is, her 192 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 1: education at Detroit High School for the Final Performing Arts, 193 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: where she trained as a dancer, was interrupted by her 194 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: quick fame as a teenager. That meant juggling studies with 195 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: stardom for four straight years, and that meant working just 196 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: as hard at maintaining a grounded, quote unquote normal teenage 197 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: life as she did working to put out huge records 198 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: atop the R and B and pop charts. By the 199 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: time her senior year old around in nineteen ninety seven, 200 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,559 Speaker 1: the desire for normalcy was so strong that she made 201 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: the effort to show up in person to school events 202 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: as much as she could. She even attended her senior 203 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: promp wearing a powder blue pantsuit cropt, a fashion statement 204 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: that didn't just luck the expectations of what a promo 205 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 1: of it should look like, but one that played a 206 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: riff on the kind of fashion that she was now 207 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: modeling for Tommy Hillfigure. Her appearance in the industry giant's 208 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: wildly successful campaign that year revitalized the hill Figured name 209 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: by aligning it with R and B and hip hop culture, 210 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: while simultaneously elevating a leah In status at age eighteen. 211 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: To repeat. When Aleah attended her high school prompt, she 212 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: did so while she was already a famous singer and 213 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: a model on the come up. She was everywhere, MTV, 214 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: be et, the Tonight Show, showtime at the Apollo, and 215 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: now in Detroit at school, just trying to be normal, 216 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: but there was nothing normal about any of it, just 217 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: like there was nothing normal about the music she was making. 218 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: Her second album, One in a Million, released the year 219 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: prior in nineteen ninety six, was unlike anything in the 220 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: R and B world at that time. It wasn't diva 221 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: music like Mariah, it wasn't baby making music like Boys 222 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: to Men, and it was purposefully divorced from the jailbait 223 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: fantasy once propagated by our infamous X. One in a 224 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: Million was funky, a stew of R and B, hip 225 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: hop and electronica that for some was actually a little 226 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: too weird, like what were those sounds on that track? 227 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: Were those crickets? A lot of radio stations hesitated to 228 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: put the title track on air at first because it 229 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: didn't fit in, which was exactly the point. This new 230 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: record was Elia's chance to wipe the slate clean, to 231 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: reintroduce herself to the public, and the first step in 232 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: this new creative direction was to hire a new production 233 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: duo out of the Dirty South. Alia took a chance 234 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: on Virginia Day there was a Missy Elliott and Tim 235 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: Moseley aka Timberland when many others would not, and the 236 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: chance paid off. The title track from One in a 237 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 1: Million went to number one on the R and B 238 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: Chart and to number five on the Pop chart. More 239 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: success followed, including Golden Globe and Oscar Award nominations in 240 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety eight for her contribution to the Anastasia soundtrack. 241 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: She couldn't beat Celine Dion and My Heart Will Go 242 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: On from Titanic. Nobody could. But Alias still made history 243 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: at age nineteen by becoming the youngest artist ever to 244 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: perform at the Academy Awards, and soon she wasn't just 245 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: making history, she was making some of the most defining 246 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: music of the era, against all odds. Timblin got the 247 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: call at one in the morning. It was Barry Hankerson, 248 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: Aliah's uncle Aunty Gladys, ex, owner of Blackground Records, the 249 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: label that had partnered with Atlantic Records to release Alia's music. 250 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: Tim was in la but Barry was back east in 251 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: New York, where it was three hours later in the 252 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: morning but still way too fucking early. Tim wanted to 253 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: know what was so important they couldn't wait until tomorrow. 254 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: Barry told Tim that a huge opportunity just presented itself. 255 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: That Aliyah had been offered the lead single on the 256 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: soundtrack to Dr Doolittle, the highly anticipated summer comedy starring 257 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: Eddie Murphy. But there was a catch. The movie was 258 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: weeks away from release. That had to produce the track 259 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: now tonight and deliver it by eleven am. Again, it 260 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: was one am out in Los Angeles, four am New York. 261 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: The track was due at eleven am. Was that East 262 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,440 Speaker 1: coast or West coast time? Does it fucking matter? My 263 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: point is that Timberland and Eliah had hours to conceive 264 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: and record this song that Atlantic Records in twentieth Century Fox, 265 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 1: the studio putting out the movie, were betting on to 266 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: be a huge hit and thus sell Boku soundtrack CDs. 267 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: Timberland's first reaction was to push back. He'd just come 268 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: off stage in Los Angeles and he was exhausted, and 269 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: now he was expected to turn out a hit song 270 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: in what ten hours? Barney was out of his mind. 271 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,400 Speaker 1: They needed more time, but there was no more time. 272 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: In fact, Barry had bluffed and told Atlantic that they 273 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: already had a track in the can. There was, however, 274 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: good money in it, four hundred thousand dollars, which Timberland 275 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: and Aaliyah were welcome to split down the middle and 276 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 1: to sweeten the pot. The song was already written and 277 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: ready to go. It was called Are You That's Somebody? 278 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: And it was the brainchild of Steven Ellis Garrett aka's 279 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: Static Major, a songwriter and producer who, let me know 280 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: it's the most was currently in the secret relationship with 281 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: a Leah. The promise of a pretty sweet pay day 282 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: lit a fire under timbaland. He put up the bat 283 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: signal and assembled a Leah. A static Major and Tim's 284 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 1: right hand man, an engineer, Jimmy Douglas, had Village Studios 285 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,479 Speaker 1: over on the west side of La There they get 286 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: to work again, flexing the weirdo muscle, the one that 287 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: drew raised eyebrows and then earned them a coveted number 288 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: one slot with one in a million. Timberlin's stuttering beat, 289 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 1: the clicks and the clacks and the off kilter inverted 290 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: funk of it all inspired and I'm not kidding here 291 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: by the umpa lupa song and the Willy Wonka and 292 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: the Chocolate Factory film. That odd sonic place setting was 293 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: then balanced out so delicately by Aliah's compelling vocal, so confident, 294 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: so cool and collected. The genius of this track, and 295 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: I remind you that it was created at the last 296 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: minute and the wee hours of an early summer night 297 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: turned morning, is how skillfully it balances avant garde in 298 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: mainstream sensibilities. Perhaps it was difficult to see at the 299 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: time when he came out on the track for a 300 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: silly Enny Murphy comedy. There is something so radical about 301 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: this track that it's subversive. And I haven't even mentioned 302 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: one of the song's most indelible elements, which is the 303 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: sampled sound of that baby cooing during the hook, a 304 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: sound that Timbaland, in his delightfully strange and subversive way, 305 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: added at the last minute right before they mixed. The 306 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: Master and Shift argue that somebody to the label that 307 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: baby sound. By the way, it comes from a nineteen 308 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: sixty four album called Authentic Sound Effects wyam A. And 309 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: if you think it sounds familiar, his Royal Badass Prince 310 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: had used the same exact sample some sixteen years prior, 311 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: at the very end of his song Delirious but back 312 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: to the story. The creative partnership between the Leah and 313 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: Timberland was a crystal ball of sorts, gazing into the 314 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: future of R and B and hip hop is coming 315 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: down the pike at them. And that fact is a 316 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,119 Speaker 1: bit easier to see now in hindsight, but at the 317 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: time it was just life happening. Calls in the middle 318 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,520 Speaker 1: of the night, songs whipped together under great pressure, necessity 319 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: being the mother of invention, all of that. Three years later, 320 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 1: in two thousand and one, life was still happening, though 321 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,359 Speaker 1: still not in the way it's expected to happen. God 322 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 1: laughing while we're busy making other plans and so on. 323 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: Aliyah and Blackground Records were now partnered with Virgin Records 324 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: to release her third eponymous album. Timberland, who was busy 325 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: with other high profile projects, barely had time to contribute, 326 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: though Aliah was able to corner him to work on 327 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: three of the album's tracks. The album was poised to 328 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: level her up once again. The biggest tour of her 329 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,879 Speaker 1: career was on the horizon, with the goal being to 330 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: make Aliyah as much of a household name as Madonna. 331 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: That was the dream, but first Aaliyah had to wake 332 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: up from another dream once she was having at an 333 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 1: airport in the Bahamas, while she was waiting to fly 334 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: back home and back to that long lost sense of normalcy. 335 00:19:54,200 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this word word word, Aliyah 336 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 2: Man never. 337 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: Woken up from that dream. That dream, by the way, 338 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: the one I described earlier, in which he is running 339 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: from something in the darkness, only the lift off, take flight, 340 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: and escape. She described it as a dream that she 341 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: kept having when she gave what would turn out to 342 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: be one of her final interviews to a German reporter 343 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: at Paris. This was just weeks before she traveled to 344 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: the Bahamas to shoot the video for Rock the Boat 345 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: with Hype Williams. Once again, according to the thirteen year 346 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: old luggage carrier who was helping out with his family's 347 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: business at the Marsh Harbor Airport, the one who saw 348 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: someone get a pill to Alia before she passed out. 349 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: Once it was time to board the Cessina four or 350 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: two be twin engine plane traveling from the Bahamas back 351 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: to Miami on August twenty fifth, two thousand and one, 352 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,160 Speaker 1: Aliyah was still asleep and had to be carried onto 353 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,159 Speaker 1: the plane, which leads to the obvious question, what was 354 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: that pill and who gave it to her? But I'm 355 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 1: getting ahead of myself. Getting on the plane unconscious may 356 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: have been the only way Aleah would have agreed to 357 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 1: do it, seeing as how she had a lot of 358 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 1: anxiety about boarding the aircraft in the first place. It 359 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: was small, and she worried it was over the weight limit. 360 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: Directly preceding her being carried onto the plane, an argument 361 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: took place among airport personnel about the total weight of 362 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: the passengers and their luggage. The pilot was complaining to 363 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: anyone that would listen in the baggage handlers too, there 364 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: was too much luggage on board one minute, and there 365 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: wasn't too much luggage on board the next. It kept 366 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: going back and forth. Maleia's team, that's her bodyguard, her 367 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 1: makeup artist, two hairstylists, and three record label employees were 368 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,919 Speaker 1: all getting restless. The plane was scheduled to take off 369 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 1: at four point thirty in the afternoon, but now it 370 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 1: was almost six and they were still at a standstill. 371 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: Tempers flared. The pilot threw up his hands and he 372 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: conceded he didn't even know what he was arguing about anymore. 373 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:52,600 Speaker 1: He just wanted to get his bird up in the 374 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:57,920 Speaker 1: air and get these irritated flat Landers back home. It 375 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: was six forty five that evening when the Sessa, now 376 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: finally boarded, over two hours passed its original departure time. 377 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: The skies were blue and the weather was calm. The 378 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: plane's twin propellers began to squeak and twirl as the 379 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 1: engine fired and then kicked into full speed, the sound 380 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: like dual supersized lawnmowers, burning hot and loud. The passengers 381 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: settled in as the pilot taxied the aircraft to the 382 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: top of the runway, and the call came in over 383 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: the radio that they'd been cleared for takeoff. The pilot 384 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,159 Speaker 1: increased the throttle and the plane rumbled and sped forward, 385 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: gaining speed as it traveled down the runway. More throttle, 386 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: more rumbling, more speed than they were airborne, the Cessna 387 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 1: gradually making the climb from the ground to the clouds steady, up, 388 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:48,680 Speaker 1: a little higher, steady, and higher, still steady, And then 389 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,400 Speaker 1: after just sixty seconds, some one hundred feet in the air, 390 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: the plane suddenly veered to the left way off course, 391 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: and as it did, the nose began to turn from 392 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,879 Speaker 1: a scent to descent from skyward to earthbound, and the 393 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 1: Cessna was in a free fall straight down. The plane 394 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: dropped like a stone within seconds, crashing into the marsh 395 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: lined with bushes. It exploded upon impact, and the wreckage 396 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: was in flames. First responders found an aircraft ripped to pieces. 397 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: The bodies of all seven passages, as well as the pilot, 398 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,640 Speaker 1: were strewn throughout the crash site. Someone was screaming. Three 399 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: of the people on board, Aliah's bodyguard, her hair stylus, 400 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: and one other unidentified person were found alive, though all 401 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: three soon died either at the hospital or on the way. 402 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,439 Speaker 1: Everyone else was pronounced dead at the scene, including Aliah, 403 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: who was discovered approximately twenty feet from the mangled, smoking 404 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 1: twist of steel, strapped into her seat, curled up head 405 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,000 Speaker 1: between her legs, covered in burns with signs of massive 406 00:23:54,080 --> 00:24:00,639 Speaker 1: head trauma. An investigation into the craw blamed it on 407 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: engine failure, adding that as Aliyah herself suspected, the overloaded 408 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: cargo and passengers on board could have contributed to that failure, 409 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: but overloading an engine failure quickly took a back seat 410 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: when new revelations came to light revelations about the pilot, 411 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 1: the charter company, illegal drugs, and massive fraud, the kinds 412 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: of things that make a plane go into a nose 413 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: dive after takeoff, the kinds of things that ensure that 414 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:51,959 Speaker 1: life never plays out the way it's supposed to. Two 415 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,120 Speaker 1: weeks before he flew the Cessna that crashed and killed Aliyah, 416 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,720 Speaker 1: her team, and himself, the pilot, Louis Morales the Third, 417 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: was in a Florida cor room. He was facing four felonies, 418 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: including one for possession of crack cocaine. He pleaded no 419 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,439 Speaker 1: contest In exchange for that plea, Louis Morales was sentenced 420 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 1: to three years probation. Since he was technically not convicted 421 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: of a crime, his pilot's license was not revoked. All 422 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,120 Speaker 1: the same, he wasn't supposed to be in the cockpit 423 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: of that Cessna on August twenty fifth, two thousand and one. 424 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,640 Speaker 1: We know this now because Louis Morales was not listed 425 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: on the charter playing company's official certificate for the flight. 426 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 1: This information was revealed days after the initial crash. It 427 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 1: wasn't until close to a year later that an even 428 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: bigger bomb show was revealed. That being an autopsy report, 429 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: which proved that there was cocaine and alcohol in Louis 430 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,680 Speaker 1: Morales's body at the time of the accident. Now, Louis 431 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,479 Speaker 1: Morales wasn't the only one involved in this tragedy who 432 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: had a record. Blackhawk International Airways, the charter company in 433 00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:59,879 Speaker 1: charge of the flight, had been fined by the FAA 434 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: four times in the last three years for violating safety standards, 435 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,879 Speaker 1: for failing to comply with maintenance standards, and for failing 436 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: to test its employees for illegal drug use. Even more, 437 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: Blackhawk's owner, Gilbert Chacone, had his own criminal record for fraud, 438 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,120 Speaker 1: and not some rinky dink con job either. The guy 439 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: was part of a huge four hundred million dollar insurance scam. 440 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,920 Speaker 1: His home address was listed as the address of another 441 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 1: company called Skystreet, which was the owner of the Cessna 442 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: four to two B. As all these facts were revealed 443 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: to the public in the weeks following the crash, the 444 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 1: FAA employee who had cleared the flight took his own life. 445 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: It gets even more complicated from here. It turns out 446 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: that Blackhawk wasn't originally hired to charter the flight that 447 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: was supposed to have been the responsibility of another company. 448 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 1: Called Skylimo, partnering with a shipment company called Profrate Carbo Service. 449 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: Profrate had actually determined that the luggage was heavy enough 450 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: to require multiple planes to get everyone in everything back 451 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: to the mainland, but when the original flight time had 452 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:05,879 Speaker 1: to be rescheduled, someone used that blip in the plan 453 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:11,399 Speaker 1: to hastily replace sky Limo with Blackhawk, someone who we 454 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 1: still don't know and why was likely because Blackhawk was 455 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 1: cheaper and cut more corners. Of course, there are other 456 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: narratives out there about why Blackhawk, a cheap o company 457 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:24,920 Speaker 1: with a bad rep, was chosen last minute to bring 458 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: Aleah home. The R and B singer Mary J. Blige, 459 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:30,159 Speaker 1: for one, not a close friend of Aliah's, but a 460 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,159 Speaker 1: known acquaintance, speaking on the ve T show one O 461 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: six in Park, claimed that Aliah's death was not a 462 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: simple accident, but rather quote a murder, a spiritual murder unquote. 463 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: She went on to say, quote I could go a 464 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 1: lot deeper for a lot of people. I would have 465 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:50,879 Speaker 1: to bring proof unquote. More recently, there's Jaguar Wright, a 466 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: singer songwriter who was working with the Roots in jay 467 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: Z around the same time that Alias Starr was on 468 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,160 Speaker 1: the rise. In the wake of the recent allegations against 469 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,880 Speaker 1: Sean Diddy, Coe Jaguar, Wright has gone on the offensive publicly. 470 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 1: In a series of impassioned interviews that have been circulating 471 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: on social media, she lays out a conspiracy surrounding Aleah's 472 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,400 Speaker 1: death that lays the blame not on Ditty but instead 473 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 1: on Jay Z, the one time business partner of Damon Dash, 474 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: the Rockefeller executive whom Aleah was dating at the time. 475 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: And look, I'm not even going to touch that one 476 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: right now. You can go look it up for yourself 477 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: and see what she has to say. It's wild. And 478 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 1: then there's Damon Dash, who in two thousand and one 479 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: was the love of Aleah's life and the major motivation 480 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: for her to return back home on the day that 481 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 1: she did. In an interview on Entertainment Tonight, Dame alleged 482 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,280 Speaker 1: that Lenny Kravitz offered to send a private jet to 483 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: the Bahamas to pick up Aleah, but instead Hype Williams 484 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: took that jet, leaving Aliah stuck with the whole Blackhawk debacle. 485 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: When asked if he'd ever confronted Hype Williams about this, 486 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 1: Dame replied, fuck yeah. But when Pressed to divulge the 487 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: details of that confrontation, Dame only said ask him and 488 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: just earlier this year, twenty twenty four, Dame Dash was 489 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 1: talking again about his relationship with Aleah and how that 490 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: immeasurable loss affected both his life and the music world. 491 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: This time he was speaking on the PbD podcast. This time, 492 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: Deem said, quote, I know what happened, but I'm not 493 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 1: going to tell you what the truth is at this 494 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: moment we're in public. Maybe that truth will come out 495 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 1: in time, if there really is a hidden truth behind 496 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: this great tragedy. Until then, we do know this. In 497 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: two thousand and two, one year after the accident, Aliyah's 498 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: family filed a lawsuit for wrongful death and negligence. It named, 499 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: among others, Blackhawk, its owner Gilbert Tracone, Skystream, Hype Williams, 500 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 1: and Virgin Records. In addition to being accused by one 501 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: attorney of quote putting profits over people unquote, Virgin also 502 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: failed to honor a verbal promise to pay a Nassau 503 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:55,600 Speaker 1: mortuary to prepare the bodies of Aliah and other passengers. Ultimately, 504 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: the R and B singer Maxwell stepped up to foot 505 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,479 Speaker 1: the bill for a Leah's funeral, but that's another story itself. 506 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 1: One year after the lawsuit was filed, the family settled 507 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 1: with Blackhawks, Skystream and Chakhone for an undisclosed sum. The 508 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:15,000 Speaker 1: details of that settlement are confidential. But the incredible talent, 509 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: the fire that burned deep in the heart and soul 510 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: of Aliyah, that's in the public record. The fact that 511 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: that public record only lasted until two thousand and one, 512 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,000 Speaker 1: now more than twenty years in the past, when Aliah 513 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: Houghton was just getting started, that's a disgrace. I'm Jake 514 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: Brennan in This is disgrace Land. All right, guys, thanks 515 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: for listening to this episode on Aliah. This this week's 516 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: question of the week is which child star? This can 517 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: be a musician like Leo, or it can be an 518 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: actor and actress. Which child star has made the most 519 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 1: impact on you? Six one seven nine oh six six 520 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: six three eight, Leave me a voicemail, send me a 521 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,959 Speaker 1: text with your answer at disgracelampod on the Socials. All right, 522 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: here comes some credits. Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly 523 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for 524 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: this episode can be found on the show notes page 525 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,400 Speaker 1: at disgracelampod dot com. If you're listening as a Disgraceland 526 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We 527 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 1: really appreciate it, and if not, you can become a 528 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 1: member right now by going to disgracelampod dot com slash Membership. 529 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:45,400 Speaker 1: Members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, 530 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: Plus you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month, 531 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: weekly unscripted bonus episode, special audio collections, in early access 532 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com slash Membership 533 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,480 Speaker 1: for details, rate and review the show, and follow us 534 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 1: on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at Disgracelandpod and on 535 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: YouTube at YouTube dot com slash at disgracelamdpod. Rock a Roller. 536 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 2: He's a bed down man.