There’s always an internet "comment section war" regarding where the late Aaliyah Haughton’s career would be today if she were still living; some say she would be as big as or bigger than Beyonce, but, of course, the Beyhive would disagree.
Last summer, as news about the Lifetime Aaliyah movie hit the fan, her family was very outspoken about being against the project. Her uncle Barry and cousin Jomo Hankerson have said they think the late singer would have been on Beyonce’s superstar level right now.
Well, T-Pain has opened up this can of worms again!
At a listening party for his latest mixtape, The Iron Way, T-Pain explained he had a song called “Girlfriend” billed for the project featuring an Aaliyah vocal sample. However, it was scrapped from the project because people didn’t think that Pain was “worthy” of using an Aaliyah sample.
He explained he was approached to appear on a posthumous Aaliyah album a few years back, and instead of charging for his contribution, he did one for that album for free, and they gave him some of her vocal sessions for his creative use.
He pushed some buttons with the crowd, though, when he tried to explain his frustrations with criticism from people, who thought he shouldn’t put the song on The Iron Way:
“I ain’t discrediting Aaliyah in any kind of way, but you know how sometimes when people die… You know how somebody’s an asshole their whole life, but when you go to their funeral it’s like, “This guy is the greatest man that ever walked this Earth.” [crowd moans]… You know what I’m saying… I’m not saying Aaliyah…
Because she passed nobody’s good enough to be next to her. If she was still alive, then everybody would be saying, “Oh you’re trying to be like Beyoncé.” But now that she’s passed, everybody’s like, “Nobody can be like her.” That’s just how it is, and that’s how people are. People just look for s**t to talk about.”
I understand what Pain was trying to say, but the wording sounds harsh. Watch the clips below and listen to the song (in the second video).
Your thoughts?
