Aaliyah's Former Publicist Remembers Aaliyah ŠEurweb.com 2001

Aaliyah stood alone. She was a beautiful mystery to most fans. Saturday night R&B singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas where she had just filmed her latest music video. Washington, D.C.-based syndicated radio announcer Bill Carpenter (The Music Jam), who was Aaliyah's publicist for her first CD "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number" -- and during her early marriage scandal to R. Kelly -- says Hollywood has lost one of its most talented young stars. "Hollywood and black entertainment in particular lost the woman who was destined to become the Diana Ross or Whitney Houston of her generation," says Carpenter. "Brandy and Monica are the girls next door. Little Kim and Foxy Brown are on the other end of the spectrum. Aaliyah stood alone. She was a beautiful mystery to most fans. She wasn't the girl next door, but she also wasn't Little Kim." Carpenter worked with Aaliyah when she was still an honor student at the Detroit High School of the arts. Her Top 10 pop and R&B single "Back and Forth" in spring 1994 catapulted her to fame. She followed with "At Your Best (You Are Love)" and "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number." Aaliyah was Carpenter's first PR client, but he was schooled fast. In the midst of the stardom, Aaliyah's camp was rocked with media rumors that the 15 year old had secretly married her producer R. Kelly. "I still don't know exactly what did or did not happen in terms of a marriage," says Carpenter. "But it was my job to deny it and that's what I did. Then, the Chicago Times quoted me and printed a copy of the marriage certificate next to my quote - so, then, I just stopped answering the question." Carpenter stopped working with Aaliyah in August 1995 because of disagreements with her management. However, he never lost respect and love for Aaliyah herself. "She was mature beyond her age," Carpenter says. "She was down-to-earth and never the ice princess she projected on stage. She was beautiful to look at and interesting to talk to. She could talk politics or music - her favorite singer was Johnny Mathis. That's sophistication. Even though she was young and edgy in her imaging, Aaliyah brought a special sophistication to R&B that we haven't seen in a long time. With her movies and hit songs she was on a definite course to become the next Diana Ross for her generation. With her sudden death, her legacy will be even more hallowed. Just like Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe or even Marvin Gaye, death will just make her the icon she was destined to become anyway. It's just sad that she won't be alive to witness and enjoy it." Bill Carpenter co-owns Capital Entertainment, a public relations agency based in Washington, DC.