Missy Elliott is giving fans some behind-the-scenes tidbits into the recording of Aaliyah’s hit song “4 Page Letter.”
via People:
On Wednesday, the 50-year-old music icon hopped on Twitter to explain the origins of the hit song, which peaked on the Billboard charts at No. 12 after its 1996 release. Recently, a TikTok video went viral when a user reenacted what she imagined happening when “4 Page Letter” was recorded decades ago, and a fan asked Elliott to set the record straight on what really went down in the studio
The song, which was produced by Timbaland and Elliott, begins with Aaliyah repeatedly asking someone behind the scenes to “turn my music up” as the sound builds during the intro.
“Funfact?? when I was in the booth singing this my engineer had the music to low so I was telling him to turn it up but Aaliyah thought I meant to do it so she sung it like i did on the demo but it was a mistake ? but she loved it ???? so we kept it like that ??,” Elliott wrote.
The “Work It” rapper continued, “And since Babygirl loved the mistake I told Jimmy the engineer to keep raising the music on the track everytime she say turn it up so it would make sense to the listeners so y’all wouldn’t think we was crazy ?? this skit is damn near what happened tho?.”
Many followers thanked Elliott for sharing the story, and asked to hear more about Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash at age 22 in 2001.
Fans have been able to listen to the late star’s music, including “4 Page Letter,” after her second studio album One in a Million officially became available to stream on Spotify last month.
The release of One in a Million follows a decades-long battle between the late singer’s estate and her former manager and uncle, Barry Hankerson, over Aaliyah’s discography. Twitter celebrated the release of Aaliyah’s album with a custom emoji and hashtags, including #AaliyahIsHere and #Aaliyah.
The streaming debut of her album dropped days before the 20th anniversary of her death on Aug. 25, which Elliot commented on on Twitter.
Of many stars, the rapper paid tribute to her late friend, writing, “”Babygirl All these years your IMPACT is still felt & your INFLUENCE is seen EVERYWHERE! So many are still CAPTIVATED by your SOUND & STYLE! It’s BEAUTIFUL to see a new generation become fans of your ART & love YOUR HEART.”
“We Love you??& May your spirit live on 4EVER??” Elliot said.
The more you know!
And since Babygirl loved the mistake I told Jimmy the engineer to keep raising the music on the track everytime she say turn it up so it would make sense to the listeners so y’all wouldn’t think we was crazy?? this skit is damn near what happened tho?
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) September 29, 2021
