Age Ain't Nothing but a Number

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This article is about the album. For the song, see Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (song).
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number
Aaliyah-age-aint-94.jpg
Studio album by Aaliyah
Released May 24, 1994 (1994-05-24)
Recorded September 1993 – April 1994
Chicago Recording Company
(Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length 48:54
Label
Producer
Aaliyah chronology
Age Ain't Nothing But a Number
(1994)		 One in a Million
(1996)One in a Million1996
Singles from Age Ain't Nothing But a Number
  1. "Back & Forth"
    Released: May 10, 1994
  2. "At Your Best (You Are Love)"
    Released: August 22, 1994
  3. "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number"
    Released: December 6, 1994
  4. "Down with the Clique"
    Released: May 2, 1995
  5. "No One Knows How To Love Me Quite Like You Do"
    Released: June 27, 1995
  6. "The Thing I Like"
    Released: August 3, 1995

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Aaliyah, released under Jive and Blackground Records on May 24, 1994, in the United States. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to recording artist and producer R. Kelly. He became her mentor, as well as the lead songwriter and producer of the album. The duo recorded the album at the Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois. The album featured two hit singles, including the top ten-charting "Back & Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)"; both singles were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). One additional single followed in the U.S.: "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number". Two more singles were released internationally after "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number": "Down with the Clique" and "The Thing I Like".

Age Ain't Nothing But a Number received generally favorable reviews from critics. Many noted Aaliyah's vocal ability and praised the lyrical content. Aaliyah was credited for redefining R&B by blending her voice with Kelly's new jack swing. The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States.[2] The album was certified Gold in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) and Gold in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) to date. The album has sold over six million copies worldwide.[3]

Background and recording

After Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah's uncle, signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed her to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12.[4][5] Hankerson then introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly.[6] He became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of the album.[7][8] Aaliyah and Kelly began recording the album in 1993 when she was 14.[5] The duo recorded the first song, "Old School", at the Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois.[9][10] While recording the album, Kelly coached her as they worked several hours in the studio. She often sang the songs multiple times in order to achieve "excellence".[11] He claimed that Aaliyah was "one of the best young artists" he had worked with.[10]

Musical content

Aaliyah sang her songs in a falsetto. She felt that the songs "came at you kind of tough, a bit edgy, hip-hop, but the vocals can be very soothing".[12] She went on to say, "lyrically I want things to be different."[12]

Marketing and promotion

A month before the release of the debut single, "Back & Forth", Aaliyah attended the Urban Network's "Power Jam" conference, where she was introduced and "received warmly".[10] "Back & Forth" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 while topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks.[13] The song was certified Gold by the RIAA.[14] The second single, "At Your Best (You Are Love)", peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold by the RIAA.[13][14] In promotion for the album, Aaliyah embarked on a world tour that lasted from 1994 to 1995, she toured through the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Africa[15][16][17]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[18]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3/5 stars[19]
Entertainment Weekly B+[20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 2.5/5 stars[21]
Slant Magazine 3/5 stars[22]

Age Ain't Nothing But a Number received generally favorable reviews from music critics.[citation needed] Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's new jack swing helped define R&B in the 1990s.[20][22] Her sound was also compared to that of female quartet En Vogue.[20][23] Christopher John Farley of Time magazine described the album as a "beautifully restrained work", noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R.Kelly's rough beats".[24] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic felt that the album had its "share of filler", but described the singles as "slyly seductive".[18] He also claimed that the songs on the album were "frequently better" than that of Kelly's first studio album, 12 Play.[18]

The album debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 74,000 copies in its first week.[25][26] The album ultimately peaked at number 18 on the chart.[27] It sold three million copies in the United States and 6 million copies worldwide.[14][28][29] In Canada, the album sold over 50,000 copies and was certified gold by the CRIA.[30] It also peaked at number 44 on the Dutch Albums Chart;[31] it peaked at number 23 on the UK Albums Chart, where it was certified Gold by the BPI.[32][33]

Track listing

All songs were written and produced by R. Kelly, except for "At Your Best (You Are Love)", written by Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronald Isley and Chris Jasper.

Standard edition
No. Title Length
1. "Intro"   1:30
2. "Throw Your Hands Up"   3:34
3. "Back & Forth"   3:51
4. "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number"   4:13
5. "Down with the Clique"   3:24
6. "At Your Best (You Are Love)"   4:51
7. "No One Knows How to Love Me Quite Like You Do"   4:07
8. "I'm So into You"   3:25
9. "Street Thing"   4:58
10. "Young Nation"   4:40
11. "Old School"   3:17
12. "I'm Down"   3:16
Bonus tracks[34]
No. Title Writer(s) Producer Length
13. "The Thing I Like"       3:28
14. "Back & Forth (Mr. Lee & R. Kelly's Remix)"       3:45

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position		 Certification
(sales threshold)
Canadian Albums Chart[30] 20 Gold[30]
Dutch Albums Chart[31] 44 Gold[31]
European Albums Chart[31] 68
Japanese Albums Chart 39 Gold [35]
Israel Albums Chart[31] 96
UK Albums Chart[36] 23 Gold[33]
U.S. Billboard 200[27] 18 2× Platinum[14]
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[27] 3
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums (2001)[37] 13

References

  1. ↑ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/aaliyah-age-aint-nothing-but-a-number
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140930125012/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/79059/aaliyah-returns-to-music
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150417122532/http://revolt.tv/news/age-still-aint-nothing-but-a-number-aaliyahs-debut-turns-20/6CD7310D-8406-4733-A8B1-52633C8A76A0
  4. ↑ Farley 2002, p. 35
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Sutherland 2005, p. 20
  11. ↑ Kenyatta 2002, p. 19
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Farley 2002, pp. 52–53
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/20000701aaliyah
  16. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hundreds-say-good-bye-to-aaliyah/
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ [1] Archived April 9, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ http://aaliyahremembered2.homestead.com/files/Japan.pdf
  36. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/5632/aaliyah/
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

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