Drake Says Thank You To The Late Aaliyah

Drake has been talking about the impact that the late R&B songstress Aaliyah had on him musically.

It would have been Aaliyah’s 32nd birthday yesterday (January 16), and Drizzy has been reflecting on how the star helped him nurture his R&B talent.

He told Soul Culture:

"Aaliyah has probably had the most impact on my career because when I made a choice to start singing, it was because of something my father had told me, which was, 'There's no rapper out there that sings and raps and does both things well.'

"And he's like, 'In order to be successful, you're going to need something other than what everyone else is doing.

“So when I started singing, I was rapping already at the time so I had an identity in rap but when I started singing, I needed something to reference.

"I didn't ever want it to be a male because then I would sound like that person, so I just found comfort in all of Aaliyah's music. And her melody choices and the things she talks about and how she conveyed these amazing emotions but she never got too sappy. She always kept it G."

R.I.P Aaliyah.