Having made her debut as a musical artist at a very young age, Aaliyah was one of the first artists to make it to the mainstream in their teenage years. Her debut album Age Ain't Nothing But A Number came out in 1994 when she was 15.

Her debut album peaked at No.3 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts and received platinum certification within five months of its release, making her a stellar success. 

Over the next few years, Aaliyah became one of the most successful and loved musical artists. She had a tremendous impact in the music industry and was dubbed as the Princess of R&B. Her career ended abruptly because of her untimely death on August 25, 2001.

Even though it has been over two decades since Aaliyah passed away, her legacy lives on through the dozens of artists influenced by her. 

Alicia Keys

The Princess of R&B's influence on Alicia Keys has been immense. 

Keys' 2003 hit song 'If I Ain't Got You' from her album The Diary of Alicia Keys was inspired by Aaliyah's death. Keys said the inspiration for the song came after she learned of Aaliyah's passing and that the event made it clear for her about what mattered and what didn't.

Drake

On January 16, 2011, on Aaliyah's 32nd birthday, Drake opened up about the artist who had the most significant influence on his music when talking to SoulCulture.

Aaliyah has had probably the most impact on my career because when I made the choice to start singing, it was because of something that my father told me, which was, ‘There’s no rapper out there that sings and raps and does it well...’ So when I started singing, I really needed something to like reference… I just found comfort in all of Aaliyah’s music.

JoJo

Aaliyah came into the spotlight as a music prodigy after being signed to Blackground Records as the label's first artist. Her rise paved the way for other artists, including Jojo, who was also signed to Blackground Records before he turned 15.

Jojo says her and Aaliyah's careers had a similar trajectory, and she felt comfortable signing to Blackground Records because of her.

That's one of the reasons why I felt so comfortable signing to Blackrecords, because they found Aaliyah when she was 14, and I signed with them when I was 12. So, they had experience in doing something that people said was impossible.

That’s one of the reasons why I felt so comfortable signing to Blackrecords, because they found Aaliyah when she was 14, and I signed with them when I was 12. So, they had experience in doing something that people said was impossible.

Normani

Normani's song 'Wild Side' featuring Cardi B sampled Aaliyah's 'One in a Million' track. When talking to the Zach Sang Show, Normani revealed she was touched by music for the first time when listening to Aaliyah..

Sevyn Streeter

Sevyn Streeter is among the list of artists influenced by Aaliyah. She has been bold enough to make the statement saying, "If there were no Aaliyah, there would be no Sevyn Streeter."
Sevyn Streeter's 'Before I Do' has Aaliyah's influences throughout it, and she says it was on purpose as she poured all her love for Aaliyah onto the track.