At the end of the 1990s, Aaliyah's career broadened to include acting. She was signed for a starring role in the martial arts thriller Romeo Must Die, which was released in the spring of 2000. Costarring with Chinese action film star Jet Li, she made what one film critic termed "a creditable film debut." A single she recorded with producer Timbaland forRomeo Must Die, "Try Again," was a smash success, landing Aaliyah her first number one song on the pop charts. Her acting skills obviously made a positive impression on Hollywood's filmmakers, because in short order she was signed to appear in sequels to the wildly popular action film Matrixand to play Queen Akasha, "the original vampire," in the film version of Anne Rice's novel The Queen of the Damned.
For Aaliyah, her career, particularly the musical side of it, was very much a family affair. Although she was first managed by her uncle, that responsibility was later passed to her parents, who formed Detroit-based Raliah Management for just that purpose. However, Aaliyah still recorded for Blackground Enterprises. Her cousin, Jomo, played the role of executive producer on her second album, while her brother, Rashaad, was her creative consultant.
In an interview with Billboard early in 2001, Aaliyah talked a bit about the difficulties of juggling her work in both acting and singing: "I'd literally go from the movie studio to the recording studio. I'm like two different people. Once they say, 'Cut—it's a wrap for the day,' I leave the costumes on the set. I have two different facets to my career. I have to know how to turn it on and off."
With her third album's release, she seemed pleased with the ground she'd covered in just 22 years. She told Harper's Bazaar that she is "more controlling now. I have come into my own in the past year, and I really felt it making the new album. I would tell my producers, 'No, no, no. I don't want to do this' or 'Let's take this hook out.' It felt good to be so vocal." She described the third album as "a party album, with a few big, beautiful ballads," and assured the interviewer that her latest effort was definitely not "R&B lite." Timbaland likened their professional relationship to a "musical marriage," saying, "When you feel like someone is part of your family, the work comes naturally."
