In the history of R&B music we have had multiple shining stars. And for the most part they've all overlapped each other. Of course, there are some Mega Stars that shine brighter than others but the existence of one person never stopped another person from shining. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.
So when I read a comment that said "if Aaliyah was alive there would be no Beyoncé" I was dumbfounded by what logic did that come from? Then I realize it was just a weak argument based on nothing to explain why somebody is so successful. It's an argument that's rooted and no factual data. Unable to be proved but sounds good when you say it out loud. So I decided to take a deep dive and explore the facts based on history.
There already was a "Beyoncé" when Aaliyah was alive. That fame and success came through Destiny’s Child. Beyoncé was on the rise while Aaliyah was shining bright as a diamond. Brandy and Monica was super success too. Their rivalry fueled their multiplatinum hit "The Boy Is Mine" A person living or dying doesn't stop another person from succeeding. There is room in the game for multiple giants. Follow me.
The actual facts are during the 90s Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Celine Dion all were on top of there game at the same time. Each one of these artists would release albums within months of each other and they would sell millions of copies. Each artist had their fan base and more importantly they shared the same fans. Each artist's success made the next artist successful.
Going further back to the 60s and 70s there was Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and the Isley Brothers were all on top of there craft making classics.
During the '80s in the prime of their career Michael Jackson and Prince existed. Arguably the two most talented and successful artists of all time. No one once said, if this person didn't exist this person would be more successful.
Even looking at Hip Hop during its Platinum age in the 90s there was Biggie,Tupac, Snoop, Dr. Dre, MC Hammer all sold massive amounts of records while each other was alive.
Early 2000's Emeinm, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, DMX, Nelly, T.I. and Ludacris all were going multi platinum with almost every album. They all sold crazy number of records and got mass amount of love. The industry was actually better because of it. We had so many great records at once.
Let me ask this, has the fame and success of Cardi B stopped Nicki Minaj from being successful? No. Has Megan Thee Stallion or Doja Cat canceled each other with their success? No.
If Aaliyah was alive would she be successful and accomplished? Of course and Beyonce' would still be the mega star she is today. Adele would still be successful. Rihanna would still be successful. Fanbase grow with every new generation. And guess what? They all share the same fans. There is no one group that only buys one artists music. We all like multiple things at once.
So the notion that one person's existence will stop another person from being successful is utterly ridiculous. Whatever success and fame that's due to you, nobody can stop that except for you.