Aaliyah is no longer with us because of that tragic plane crash 14 years ago. In her remembrance, Timbaland dropped a new song with Aaliyah as one of the featured singers, and it doesn't sound bad at all.
The new single called "Shakin" was released on Christmas Day and has so far garnered a lot of views on various social media websites. The song is of a broader mixtape by producer King Stays King. The other artist on the track is an emcee known as Strado, and yes, his verse was pretty good as well.
More praise should go to Aaliyah's verse since it takes the listeners back to the '90s. Her smooth voice alone gives enough reason to listen to the song multiple times, perhaps while pondering about what could have been if her career was not cut short.
On Twitter, Timbaland even sent out a dedication to the late R&B star.
Aaliyah.. This is for you baby. Download #KingStaysKing NOW! https://t.co/85JsmmixUu pic.twitter.com/flh58d1m8U
— Timbaland (@Timbaland) December 25, 2015
Unfortunately for Timbaland, some fans are not that in love with his verse on the track. Some even believe he just up and spoiled the whole song. In fact, the tweet even solicited comments that rappers and other musicians better end their bid to have their songs mixed with Aaliyah's voice.
Back in August this year, Timbaland announced that he will release a new track with Aaliyah. He even teased fans on Instagram with an image of Aaliyah's face in the cloud.
An official mixtape of Aaliyah's latest work before she died was released in 2002, a year after the singer passed away. In 2013, she was featured in a song with Chris Brown, and to many, that has been the best use of her voice in a very long time. Interestingly enough, the song did not sit well with Timbaland.
"Aaliyah music only work with its soulmate, which is me," he said.
Suffice to say, one could argue that while "Shakin" sounds good, Chris Brown's "Don't Think They Know" is probably a better song because it did not rely a lot on Aaliyah to be a good song, unlike Timbaland's track.
