Aaliyah has a pleasant voice, but the real reason the teenager's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was a hit is the radio-ready production courtesy of R. Kelly, her then-husband. Kelly wraps Aaliyah's voice in layers of lush synths and deep grooves, while adding songs that are frequently better than the ones on his own album, 12 Play. ...

Aaliyah has a pleasant voice, but the real reason the teenager's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was a hit is the radio-ready production courtesy of R. Kelly, her then-husband. Kelly wraps Aaliyah's voice in layers of lush synths and deep grooves, while adding songs that are frequently better than the ones on his own album, 12 Play. Age may have its share of filler, but its singles are slyly seductive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi