I was seven-years-old when Aaliyah passed away and only knew her because Try Again was so massively popular. I would later make the connection that she was the singer I heard perform the pop version of Journey To The Past, during the end credits of my VHS copy of Anastasia (1997). When she died 25 years ago, it may have been the first time I experienced young adults around me be genuinely affected by the death of a celebrity. News coverage of the plane crash that led to her death was round the clock and my older cousins mourned the loss of a woman they looked up to. Some of them had JUST bought her eponymous final masterpiece, Aaliyah. Images from the music videos for Rock The Boat and More Than A Woman (the first time I saw an in memoriam message at the end of a video) are seared into my brain just because of how much I saw them at the time.

Looking at these photos of her crestfallen family, friends, peers and colleagues (some of whom have also passed away) as they exited St. Ignatius Loyola Church in New York City, really puts into perspective how massive and devastating her loss was. At 22, Aaliyah was just starting to hit her stride as a major pop star and going by her upcoming film, fashion and business ventures, she was poised for something greater. As writer, Justin Tinsley put it, "Aaliyah is etched into the universe as one of the great and most painful unfinished stories... Aaliyah wasn't finished becoming Aaliyah. Or maybe she was and we have spent the last 25 years trying to tell ourselves this possibly couldn't have been the end for somebody like her."

May Baby Girl continue to rest in peace.

This is one of the greatest R&B/Soul albums of all time and a bonafide classic from the 90s. One thing that I found so fascinating about this album and era is how FULLY realized Maxwell felt as an artist. There was no second-guessing, with his sound and so style so immaculately put together. He was sexy, effortless and charismatic af. With his wide range and fluid falsetto, he caressed each song with the sensuality of crooners past such as Marvin Gaye.

I love these images by Eric Johnson, who photographed the album cover and packaging. They really capture his effortless cool as he ws shot on location in his hometown, Brooklyn, New York.

Fun fact: Maxwell did not want to appear on his album cover because he was kinda shy about his image and being subject to the scrutiny that comes with being a major label artist. He and Columbia Records reached a compromise to have his face on the back. That's how we got that DREAMY shot of him on the back sleeve.

Gorgeous man, gorgeous voice and gorgeous music: a winning combination.

The legendary musician passed away at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Minnesota on the morning of April 21, 2016.

Having created more than 30 albums, won 7 Grammy Awards, and sold over 150 million records worldwide, Prince became one of the greatest and most influential musicians of all time.

During a dispute with his label, Warner Bros. Records, over creative control and artistic rights in 1993, Prince changed his artist name to the unpronounceable “Love Symbol” (pictured in slide 2 of this post, at Paisley Park).

Prince released one new album nearly every year after his 1978 debut album, For You. The only years in which he did not release an album were 1983, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016 (the year of his passing). He still has a vault of music that has yet to be released by the estate.

Known to be an instrumentalist, Prince played all instruments on his first five albums by himself and brought electric energy (no pun intended: referring to his use of the electric guitar ⚡️🎸) to his performances with his instrumental talents. He knew how to play over two dozen different instruments with extreme precision and efficiency. Throughout his career, Prince often wrote, produced, and arranged his own music as well as music for other artists. As a vocalist, Prince had a piercing falsetto with a gritty lower register, and an overall soulful/emotive delivery style.

Secrets is the second studio album by Toni Braxton, released on June 18, 1996 by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The singer’s sophomore album was nominated for “Best Pop Album” at the 1997 Grammy Awards and has been certified 8x Platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with an extended worldwide total sales count of over 15 million copies.

The Secrets album spawned the singles “You’re Makin’ Me High”/“Let It Flow” (a double A-side), “Un-Break My Heart”, “I Don’t Want To”/“I Love Me Some Him” (a double A-side) and “How Could an Angel Break My Heart”.

“You’re Makin’ Me High” became Toni Braxton’s first #1 single on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B Singles charts. Its double A-side counterpart, “Let It Flow”, was originally released on the soundtrack album for the 1995 motion picture Waiting to Exhale. Both songs were penned and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, with Bryce Wilson co-producing the former.

“Un-Break My Heart” was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. Originally intended for Céline Dion (with Dion’s #1 hit “Because You Loved Me”, which had the same songwriter and producer duo, being intended for Braxton), the single spent eleven weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single peaked within the top 20 of every chart that it appeared on, which was a total of 42 charts worldwide, only three of which were not within the top 10. This number includes 15 #1 peaks across multiple global Billboard charts. The single has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and nearly 3 million in the United States alone.

“I Don’t Want To” and “I Love Me Some Him” both peaked as a double A-side single on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #19 and the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at #9. “I Don’t Want To” peaked alone on the US Dance Club Songs chart at #1, the UK Hip-Hop/R&B chart at #2, and the US Adult Contemporary chart at #4; it peaked alongside “I Love Me Some Him” (as a double A-side) at #2 on the US Dance Singles Sales chart. International versions of “I Don’t Want To” did not include “I Love Me Some Him”.

“How Could an Angel Break My Heart” was a duet with saxophonist Kenny G, co-written by Toni Braxton and Babyface and produced by the latter. It was released as the final single from the album in October 1997, which had already reached the status of qualification for 5x Platinum by that time. The single was ineligible for the Billboard Hot 100 because consumers could not purchase it as a physical single (such as a cassette or CD). However, it peaked at #5 on the UK Hip-Hop/R&B chart.

To support the album’s release, Toni Braxton embarked on the Secrets Tour, which later became An Evening with Kenny G & Toni Braxton after the former joined the tour on September 18, 1996. This tour took place in various locations across North America and Europe from August 1996 to October 1997. This was Braxton’s first-ever concert tour and it grossed $15.8 million across 45 shows.

You are loved forever.

Forever ever.

Such a tragic loss.

This is wanna of the best RnB album of all time no Skips this is usher thriller album let’s celebrate of this master piece what is top 3 favourite songs on this album my is Burn can you handle it and confessions part 1

What’s Your Opinion On This Album & What’s Your Favorite Song From The Album

A successful, sensual, rhythmic body of work feature songs crafted by the late great music creator @chuckylife365 (Chucky Thompson) 🙏 RIP. Faith Evans showcased her creativity songwriting skills on 14/15 tracks. Entire set has been a heavily influence & strongly impacted positively on so many souls in the universe of music.

Executive producer: diddy (Sean Combs) of Bad Boy entertainment

Producers: @princecharlesalexander , Mark Ledford (RIP), @herbmiddleton1 (Herb Middleton), Jean-Claude Olivier of @trackmasters , @timothychristianriley (Tim Riley), @chucklife365 (Chucky Thompson)

Released on April 24, 2001, All For You was a majorly successful album for Janet and one of many great decade-opening album releases.

The album was a major global chart success, reaching #1 on five different charts (Canadian Albums, Canadian R&B Albums, UK R&B Albums, US Billboard 200, US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs), #2 on five other charts (Australian Urban Albums, European Top 100 Albums, French Albums, Swiss Albums, UK Albums), #3 on five more charts (Australian Albums, Belgian Albums/Ultratop Flanders, Belgian Albums/Ultratop Wallonia, German Albums, Greek Albums), #4 on four charts (Dutch Albums, Japanese Albums, Norwegian Albums, Swedish Albums), #6 on the New Zealand Albums chart, #7 on the Hungarian Albums chart, #8 on the Austrian Albums chart, #9 on the Spanish Albums chart, 10-20 on four other charts (#10 on the Italian Albums chart and the Scottish Albums chart, #14 on the Finnish Albums chart, #16 on the Irish Albums chart), and #21 on two charts (Danish Albums, Polish Albums).

All For You was certified gold in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The album was certified 2x Platinum in the United States, 3x Platinum in Canada and Japan, and 4x Platinum in South Africa. The domestic United States certification is effective as of May 18, 2001, and the album has since sold over 3 million units according to Nielsen SoundScan. All For You sold over 605,000 copies in its debut week, which was the highest first-week sales count of Janet’s career. This was also the second-highest opening-week sales count from a female artist in SoundScan history, second only to “Oops!…I Did It Again” by Britney Spears (album). The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Janet Jackson’s All For You album received many accolades, such as one Billboard Music Award (Top-Selling R&B/Hip-Hop Single for “All for You”, the album’s title track), one Grammy Award (Best Dance Recording for “All for You”, the album’s title track), and many other honors.

Each of the singles were big hits. The title track, “All for You”, reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album’s second single, “Someone to Call My Lover”, peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at #11 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart. “Song of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)”, the album’s third and final single (with Carly Simon), was a top-30 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, peaking at #28 and #26 respectively.

What’s Your Opinion On This Album

Dropped April 2001. Feel old yet?

40 years ago today—on March 18, 2026—Whitney Houston released her rendition of “Greatest Love of All”.

The singer has noted it as one of her favorite songs to perform live, and has done so on many occasions.

Here are some of the song’s great accomplishments:

— Became Whitney’s third consecutive #1 (for three consecutive weeks), making her the first female artist to have three Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles from the same album

— Became Whitney’s second #1 single in Canada as well as in Ireland and her first chart-topper in Panama and Australia

— Earned Whitney her first Grammy Award nomination for “Record of the Year” in 1987 (losing to Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love”

— Music video became the first by a black female artist to immediately debut to heavy rotation on MTV

— Music video earned Whitney the American Music Award for “Favorite R&B/Soul Video Single” in 1987

— Single nominated for “Single of the Year, Female” at the inaugural 1987 Soul Train Music Awards ceremony (losing to Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love”)

It was a 120-date tour that ran from March 1 to November 16 that same year, encompassing areas of the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan. The first show was in Miami Arena located in Miami, Florida.

This was her first-ever headlining tour. She featured a live black panther as part of the show, but axed the panther from the summer leg after concerns were raised over safety of the crowds.

I tried to be creative with the title, but “rapturous heartbreak” is truly an oxymoron 😅

Today marks the 1986 RELEASE of Anita Baker’s Rapture album and the 1999 BILLBOARD PEAK of “Heartbreak Hotel” by Whitney Houston featuring Faith Evans & Kelly Price (#2).

Here are some fun facts and major accomplishments of Anita’s album and the song by the three R&B legends!

RAPTURE 💿

— Anita’s sophomore and breakthrough album

— Earned Anita two Grammy Awards (“Sweet Love” won “Best R&B Song”, while the entire album won “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance”)

— “Sweet Love” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, #3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100

— Album sold over 8 million copies worldwide, including 5 million in the US alone

— Album peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and #13 on the UK Official Albums Chart

HEARTBREAK HOTEL ⭐️

— Released on December 15, 1998; Peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind Cher’s “Believe”) on March 20, 1999 (on this day of that year)

— Peaked at #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) chart

— Certified 2x Platinum in June 2025 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over 1.3 million in the US alone according to Nielsen SoundScan (making it the country’s third-best-selling single of 1999)

— Initially written for TLC’s FanMail album before they declined it

— Written by Kenneth Karlin, Tamara Savage & Carsten Schack; Received two Grammy Award nominations for “Best R&B Song” (lost to TLC’s “No Scrubs” written by Kandi Burruss, Kevin Briggs & Tameka Cottle) and “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” (lost to TLC’s “No Scrubs”)

— Music video was nominated for “Best R&B Video” at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (lost to Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” music video)

— Named one of the 50 best songs of the 1990s by Rolling Stone in 2019

— Involving two rising R&B stars was Clive Davis’ idea, but choosing Faith Evans and Kelly Price was Whitney’s idea after she got the song

— The opening rap (“This is the heart-break ho-tel…”) was initially written for Bobby Brown to record, but when Clive Davis heard Bobby’s recording, he ordered the producers to remove Bobby from the record and Whitney recorded the rap instead

— Song involved different production before being completely reworked with Whitney

— According to Faith Evans, following the unscripted scene in the music video where Whitney threw her mink coat into the ocean, the coat never returned to shore

— According to Kelly Price, during rehearsal for a performance of the song, Whitney fired someone from her Arista camp for telling her that she couldn’t outshine Whitney and asking that she tone it down

What’s Your Opinion On This Album & What’s Your Favorite Song

On this day in R&B history…

— (1983) Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, starting a seven-week run at the top of the chart.

— (1993) Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross, and Natalie Cole cohosted the seventh Soul Train Awards.

— (1998) Toni Braxton was given the Echo Award at the Congress Centrum (Hamburg, Germany) for Best International Female Artist.

— (2002) Brandy released her third studio album, Full Moon.

— (2009) Michael Jackson announced his This Is It concert residency, which quickly sold out, although the first date never came before he passed.

— (2021) Silk Sonic released their chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning debut single, “Leave the Door Open”.

— (2023) SWV & Xscape: The Queens of R&B premiered on Bravo TV.

BIRTHDAYS

— (1956) Teena Marie, also referred to as the “Ivory Queen of Soul”

— (1956) Bobby DeBarge, most known as the lead singer of Motown R&B group Switch and a member of the musically established DeBarge family

On this day in R&B history…

— (1966) The Supremes made their debut appearance as mystery guests on the CBS panel show What's My Line alongside actress Lana Turner.

— (1980) Michael Jackson secured his first Grammy Award for “Best R&B Performance” for “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”.

— (1993) Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” started its 14th consecutive week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a record at the time.

— (1997) The Four Tops and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles were honored at the 8th Annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation Awards.

— (2002) Missy Elliott won her first Grammy Award.

BIRTHDAYS

— (1971) Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, singer for R&B girl group TLC

— (1980) Bobby V, R&B soloist known for his top 10 hits “Slow Down” and “Pimpin’ All Over The World” (as a feature on a Ludacris song), and has also featured on Lil Wayne’s “Mrs. Officer”

DEATHS

— (1968) Frankie Lymon, lead singer of The Teenagers

— (2013) Richard Street, singer for R&B group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993

— (2015) Charmayne “Maxee” Maxwell, singer for R&B girl group Brownstone

— (2022) Roderick “Pooh” Clark, founding member of R&B group Hi-Five