Dame Dash has revealed the final text messages he received from Aaliyah before her fatal plane crash on August 25, 2001, speaking to Us Weekly on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy that took the 22-year-old R&B star and eight others.
What She Texted Him
According to Dash, who was dating Aaliyah at the time, the singer contacted him before boarding the Cessna 402B in the Bahamas and expressed direct concern about the aircraft.
She texted me saying I do not like the plane. I told her do not get on it.
Dash maintained that he believes things would have unfolded differently had he been in the Bahamas with her that day. He stated directly that he would not have allowed her to board the aircraft.
Her Fear Of Flying
Aaliyah had a documented fear of flying throughout her career. Dash told the outlet that she was scared every single time she flew and always carried a satin pillow with her that she called her good-luck pillow. The detail humanizes one of R&B most enigmatic figures and adds context to the final moments before the crash that investigators later attributed to an overloaded aircraft and a pilot who had cocaine and alcohol in his system.
The 25th Anniversary
The interview was published on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, exactly 25 years after Aaliyah death at age 22. She had just finished filming the music video for Rock the Boat in the Bahamas and was returning to the United States when the twin-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport. All nine people on board were killed.
Dash has spoken about Aaliyah final moments before, including during a 2016 appearance on The Real where he shared a similar account. The Us Weekly interview provides additional details including the exact wording of her text and his response urging her not to board.
Twenty-five years later, Aaliyah music catalog remains deeply influential across R&B, hip-hop, and pop. Her albums One in a Million and the self-titled Aaliyah continue to be cited by artists as foundational works that shaped the sound of modern R&B production.
