What Ever Happened to: Aaron Hall

R. Kelly gets a lot of criticism for a lot of things. And deservedly so.

But are we really gonna let him slide for stealing Aaron Hall’s whole entire swag in the early 90s?

when you need me

Aaron Hall, When You Need Me, 1993

sex me

R. Kelly, Sex Me, 1993

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Two sex-obsessed bald dudes with the same look and similar sound who branched out to go solo at the same time? Not a coincidence. But while one went on to enjoy unprecedented success, the other didn’t live up to potential.

What ever happened to Aaron Hall?

Get your popcorn, this bout to be a long, messy story. Strap in.

The story of Aaron Hall actually starts with Guy.

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Andddddd there’s a reference only four of you will get. Congratulations.

Guy was formed in the late 1980s in Harlem when childhood friends Teddy Riley and Timmy Gatling decided to team up. The pair previously had worked with the band Kids at Work and knew there was chemistry there. Eventually they were joined by Bronx native Aaron Hall, who had worked with Gatling at the department store Abraham & Straus.

Manager Gene Griffin introduced the trio to Andre Harrell, who signed them to Uptown Records and led to the release of their self-titled debut in June 1988.

BUTTTT

The trio who were signed at the time would not be the trio that would later headline tours as the Guy we know and love.

You, see Aaron Hall and Gatling wound up not getting along very well during the recording process.

As you’ll soon learn, my dude Aaron has a knack for pissing people off.

Gatling would be replace by Aaron’s brother Damion Hall, officially solidifying the trio. Oh, and don’t worry too much about Gatling – he’d drop his own album a year later and go on to pen several 90s his, including “Promises, Promises” for Christopher Williams and “When Will I See You Smile Again?” for Bell Biv DeVoe. The bag was firmly secured.

guy

Meanwhile, Guy would go on to become the architects of the New Jack Swing sound. They don’t get NEARLY enough credit today for helping to shape one of R&B’s most defining eras. Their 1988 debut would go double platinum and their sophomore effort, The Future, would see platinum success as well.

And look at this roster of hits – “Groove Me,” “Teddy’s Jam,” “I Like,” “Wanna Get With U,” “Let’s Chill,” “Do Me Right” and “D-O-G Me Out” were all top 10 R&B hits.

Your current fave could never.

guy-2Bthe-2Bfuture

Ironically, after the success of The Future, the future was looking mighty bleak for Guy.

…I’ll see myself out.

Actually, in this case it was the group that decided to bounce. After issues with their manager Griffin, the guys decided to go their separate ways, with Teddy continuing to build his resume as one of R&B’s GOAT producers and Damion dropping his own album, Straight to the Point in 1994.

And Aaron? Well, he’s the reason why you’re here, right?

juice

By 1992, Aaron was already an established name. But after “Don’t Be Afraid” dropped, he was no longer “that guy from, uh, Guy.” He was his own man.

The single would be featured on the Juice soundtrack and GOOD LORD this song was everywhere in ’92. It didn’t take long for it to rocket to the top of the R&B charts, officially making Aaron a solo star.

the truth

The success of “Don’t Be Afraid” lead to 1993’s The Truth, Aaron’s debut LP, which of course included his breakout hit as well. “Get A Little Freaky With Me” and “When You Need Me” were moderate follow-ups, leaning on Hall’s “Nasty Man” persona from the Guy days, but they all paled in comparison to THIS, the SADDEST VIDEO OF ALL TIME:

“Every time I lay at night, all I do is cry/I DO LOVE YOU BAY BAY”

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Want to make this song even sadder? Word is that the video was inspired by Aaron’s young son, who died soon after birth in 1994.

If you aren’t shedding tears your heart ain’t nothing but a pile of dried up Triscuits and your soul got an eviction notice. “I Miss You” became one of the biggest songs of its era, Aaron’s signature hit and reached No. 2 on the R&B charts.

inside of you

After spending a few years wrestling with legal troubles – more on that later – Aaron returned in 1998 with his sophomore release, Inside of You. Due to it landing near the end of 1998, a year I’ve labeled as one of the most important in hip-hop and R&B history, it was easily overshadowed by more high profile releases. But the album was pretty solid, and the lead single, “All the Places (I Will Kiss You),” still goes. It became a top 10 R&B hit. Still, that wasn’t enough to give the album enough juice, as it failed to match the buzz of Aaron’s early ’90s success.

guy III

Things would quickly look up for Aaron a year later, when the Hall brothers would FINALLY reunite with Teddy Riley for one more shot at glory. Guy III dropped in 1999 with the lead single “Dancin.” Personally, I wasn’t a fan of this one back then, nor was I a fan of their Negro Matrix look in the video. But after revisiting it for this post I gotta admit it’s pretty catchy.

Shocking fact for R&B fans – “Dancin” became Guy’s biggest crossover hit, climbing to No. 19 on the pop charts. Nope, not “I Like” or “Let’s Chill.” “Dancin'” is their biggest claim to pop fame. Life is weird.

Unfortunately, “Dancin'” had the radio hype but didn’t get those cash registers ringing. Guy III underperformed and once again, Guy was but a memory.

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adults only

In 2004, Aaron tried one more shot at glory. Declaring that “I’m not a slave anymore” to his former MCA deal, he launched his own label Head Start Music Group and dropped his third solo LP, Adults Only: The Final Album the following year. Now I know this album gets a lot of love from Aaron and Guy stans, but I’m sorry, this ain’t it, chief. Aaron still sounded pretty good but the writing and production were not up to the standards of prior releases. I mean, even the album cover looks like one of those club fliers people stick under your car’s wiper blades. Adults Only barely registered as a blip on R&B’s radar.

And oh yeah, remember how Aaron claimed Adults Only would be his final album? Well, SCRATCH THAT because he planned to try it again. Sounding like a Marvel movie villain, Aaron proclaimed that due to the lack of respect from peers and labels, he would return under a completely new persona to release new music and get the respect he deserved.

The name of this persona? I kid you not – E. Kane.

tenor

NIGHTS LIKE THIS I WISH RAINDROPS WOULD FAAAAAAAAAALL

The proposed project, E. Kane the O.G., allegedly would feature him singing over hip-hop beats. That never saw the light of day (WHEW), with Aaron instead spending the next few years with trying to get a Guy reunion off the ground. Sadly, things always seemed to fall apart just when they were getting traction and we still haven’t gotten that reunion that has been teased for nearly a decade now.

In the meantime, Aaron released “Aaron Hall’s Dog Rehab,” a weird reality show where he served as some sort of dog whisperer. Sounds like just the type of weirdness Vh1 would have picked up in 2009 to air between I Love New York and Megan Wants A Millionaire.

These days, he’s still relatively active on Facebook (or, at least, his social media team is) but no word of a new album yet. Y’all will just have to keep uplifting prayers for that E. Kane trap album.

Wellllll, playas, here’s the part of the story I’ve kinda been avoiding. Y’all know I try my best to stay away from the tabloid gossip in these posts. Y’all can check those other sites for that foolishness. But there’s no way I can tell Aaron’s story without telling … sigh, THOSE stories.

If you think Chris Brown n’ dem have a lot of controversy, playa please, Aaron Hall is the original R&B Drama King.

Remember those legal troubles I mentioned earlier that slowed his career? In 1996, Hall pleaded guilty to assault for attacking his ex-girlfriend, and was sentenced to five years of probation. A few years later he was ordered to undergo two years of anger management training BUT when he failed to show up for one of the sessions (with Aaron claiming he was delayed while traveling to witness the birth of his son) he wound up serving 11 months in Rikers Island.

And then, there is THIS interview

In 2014, Aaron sat down with Vlad TV interview and LOST HIS MIND in one of the most infamous viral vids of all time, calling Teddy Riley a “square n***a”; boasting about his “historical d***” and how everyone from Puffy to Jodeci has seen it in action; and probably most infamously, bragging about how easily he bedded video vixen Gloria Velez, claiming he just “grabbed her hand, went upstairs and f***ed her,” even saying that she was so enamored that she tatted his name above her vagina three days later.

Can you IMAGINE if this thing dropped in today’s Twitter climate?!

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Gloria wasn’t having it.

Velez, who gave birth to Aaron’s son Aaron IV at age 17, clapped back, accusing him of abuse and labeling him as a deadbeat dad who has never contributed to the care of their child. Hall, of course, has denied the abuse and says all attempts at child support were turned down.

Gloria was so pissed that she hit the studio for a diss track!

WROTE A SONG ABOUT IT. LIKE TO HEAR IT? HERE IT GO.

The most damaging shot was Gloria basically calling Aaron a pedophile for seducing her at 16 when he was in his 30s. Lord, R. Kelly already stole the man’s look, now he’s stealing Aaron’s dating habits.

Get BET on the line – we need that three-night Guy biopic ASAP.

Should He Come Back?: Considering the current surge of R&B nostalgia going on, I’m confident a Guy reunion would do BIG business. Teddy’s still got the magic touch and interest will be there. But as a solo act, Aaron’s days might be done. The early years of his solo run were very promising but he just couldn’t outrun his demons. And lord knows the think pieces would chew him to pieces if he tried any of his antics today.

Aaron, make amends with Teddy but PLEASE stay away from Vlad TV interviews.

Visit our “What Ever Happened to…” archive for more on your favorite forgotten artists

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25 Comments

  1. Reverend Paul Porkchop April 11, 2019 at 11:39 am

    That don’t be afraid (slow version) was my Jam back in the day. Sad to see the brother has seemingly lost his damn mind though. The World cause use a GUY reunion right about now for sure.

  2. Don’t Be Afraid is such a bop. Wow, he seems to have a lot of issues.

  3. One of the greats at his time .. obviously Teddy was the brains .. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE.. Aaron was the voice. Let’s not leave out those duets ( you should know who ) that captivated the 90s 🎧🎼🎵🎶

    • A man with SO much talent/gifts who let EGO and personal demons DESTROY his full potential.Well, that and the fact that he couldn’t adapt & change fast enough to stay ahead of the curve unlike his virtual protege R. Kelly. Lastly, he didn’t take care of his voice, whether it was through the rumored abuse of drugs or the accumulated strain of his forceful singing style or a combination of both, his once supreme & unmatched vocal instrument did not weather time as good as, say, a Charlie Wilson who in his 60’s still has all the vocal arsenal of his youth. Sad, as Aaron was my favorite singer of all. Hey,thanks for the memories.

    • Yes Arron was the voice behind guy

  4. Aaron Hall is definitely a head case .. but in his era / time … he was the shiiii 🤫

  5. I felt every emotion from laughter to joy to great disappointment. I love the music and would love to see a full on reunion with every one.

    • Absolutely right .. I’m old enough to remember when R. Kelly left the Public Announcements and started jacking his look, mannerisms, etc… so much so that Quincy Jones put Hall and Kelly on the song called “ Heaven “ because Aaron’s sound was influenced by Charlie Wilson. Personally I love all three artists music but the personal side is another whole conversation 🤦🏾‍♂️

    • Man I feel what you saying, & yes he is My favorite RnB singer of all times far as I am concerned R Kelly did take his swag from him I just wish Aaron Hall would still be singing today

  6. You are HILARIOUS!!! Thank you for sharing.

  7. I heard him singing recently, and he has NO voice. Sounds like he is gargling a box of rocks.

  8. You can’t talk about anyone jacking Aaron Hall without pointing out how Aaron was directly influenced by Uncle Charlie Wilson from the GAP Band. Don’t be afraid was another one of those subliminal 90s records that much like RKelly, said some disturbing things while we just bopped along to it. She shouldn’t afraid to give up her virginity, while calling him Daddy, assuring that he won’t hurt her. If that wasn’t comforting enough, he assured her that all of the doors are locked and he has her inside, that she can yell and she can hit him, but it only makes him more horny so just give in and don’t worry about a thing? Rape much?

    • Lord have mercy…when you put it in that perspective… he should have been in prison alongside Kells. No wonder I quit listening to that song.

    • Lord have mercy…when you put it in that perspective… he should have been in prison alongside Kells. No wonder I quit listening to that song. Sad!

  9. Arron needs to come back no matter what know one says

    • Absolutely right .. I’m old enough to remember R. Kelly after going solo coming out with the bald head & cane like A. Hall.

  10. Man! I am so sorry to hear that about Aaron Hall. I loved him with Guy, but loved him even more as a solo artist. I noticed last I saw him on an award show he didn’t quite look the same! He looked like he had been through some hard times! I will keep him in my prayers!

  11. I was Aron Halls barber in the 6 building, we spoke seriously and professionally, I told him how r kelly bit his style 20 yrsc ago, he showed me a book of songs like a book of rhymes to a rapper, he said I got something for R Kelly. I told Aaron that I made babies off his music, he laughed. Aaron was a friend,we smoked new Yorkers, Newports. He gets it

  12. Admire the talent of “Musical Trio” sadly didn’t remain current for 20yrs.
    Aaron and Damion exceptional artistry “problem during Jack Swing it was Bench mark so many. Guys emulating popular sound still no one could every replicate
    Handsome Aaron and Damion if reading “audience” decrying reunion soon oppose.
    Demise or retiring from music endure agony with former producer. Gene Griffin
    whom literally “plagiarized productions of GUY notice media seldom disclose.
    Demise of former GUY there plenty of animosity among former trio anyhow.
    Aaron and Damion enjoy your talent bring us new tour along album best of the
    funky groove! Wow both of aged well Aaron popular in Latin America,Turkey and
    EU interview so many European shops. During your popularity best of Funk!

  13. I’m a Cody player myself..that makes 5 of us who understand that reference.

  14. Someone had to show them how it’s done. You can’t hate on the king of R&B and his musical talent. #freeRkelly

  15. Antonia Holland July 5, 2022 at 7:42 pm

    I was at MCA when Aaron Hall and Guy were just starting out. I remember a young girl who was the receptionist (her mom was a music exec there) got pregnant. She had a baby girl named (Jazzman?) and it was understood that it was Aaron Hall’s baby. I don’t see a daughter mentioned now.

  16. Didn’t Aaron Hall have a baby girl back when he was at MCA and just starting out? I thought her name is Jazman. I was at him say I during that time when I remember the receptionist was very young had a baby girl I named her Jasmine and it was understood that Aaron Herrera was the father but I don’t see your daughter mentioned

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