This 1994 Aaliyah Song Is Problematic for Many Reasons
Prior to her death in 2001, recording artist Aaliyah released three albums which all garnered commercial success and stayed on the charts for weeks. But there was one song off her debut album in 1994 that was so problematic it’s since been dubbed “creepy” and “uncomfortable” to listen to.
Here’s which track that is and why the lyrics are hard to hear today.
Why this Aaliyah song is problematic
The first single off Aaliyah’s debut album “Back And Forth” was a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Her second single, a remake of the Isley Brother’s “At Your Best (You Are Love),” also received critical praise as did the third single, which was the album’s title track “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.”
Aaliyah worked on the album with fellow R&B singer R. Kelly. He wrote and produced “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number”– a song about a young person interested in someone older. A few of the lines include: “Age ain’t nothin’ but a number/Throwin’ down ain’t nothin’ but a thing/This lovin’ I have for you, it’ll never change … Take my hand and come with me/And let me show you true ecstasy/Boy, be brave, don’t be afraid/’Cause tonight we’re gonna go all the way.”
The lyrics were unsettling enough considering that they were coming from a 14-year-old girl but even more shocking was a few months after “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” dropped, rumors swirled that Aaliyah and R. Kelly had secretly married. In December of that year, Vibe published their marriage license that was dated Aug. 31, 1994. The pair had a quickie city hall wedding just outside of Chicago in Maywood, Illinois, and used false documents stating that Aaliyah was 18. However, at the time she was 15, and Kelly was 27.
Aaliyah’s marriage to the “Bump N’ Grind” hitmaker didn’t last long. After the wedding, she returned home to Detroit and told her family what had happened. They stepped in and got the marriage annulled.
Reactions to the hit decades later
Knowing what we do now makes “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” even more disturbing. That has been echoed again and again by the thousands of comments associated with the music video on YouTube. Many expressed how much they loved Aaliyah’s voice but are disgusted by the lyrics.
“This song is so uncomfortable to listen to, but her voice here makes me miss her so much,” one person wrote.
“Despite how creepy the lyrics are, her vocals are so mesmerizing, and I absolutely love the opening of the song,” another added, while a third wrote, “Never agreed with the lyrics, but yet I loved this song in 1994. It is sad that a grown man took advantage of this young, talented, beautiful girl.”
“This song hits differently today … knowing that R. Kelly wrote and produced this makes me sick to my stomach, a fourth posted. And a fifth person said: “I absolutely love this song but now that I know the history behind it … I’m experiencing internal conflict.”
In 2023, a Chicago judge sentenced R. Kelly to 20 years in prison on charges of child pornography and enticement of minors for sex. He will serve that sentence simultaneously with a separate 30-year sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.
