When you hear that digital string loop kick in, you know exactly where you are. It’s 2001. The air feels futuristic, metallic, and somehow incredibly smooth. But there is a weird, haunting weight to Aaliyah more than a woman lyrics that most people don’t really sit with. On the surface, it’s a club banger. Dig a little deeper into the phrasing Static Major put together, and you find something much more obsessive, almost claustrophobic.
Honestly, the song shouldn't have worked as well as it did. It’s built on a messy, "mechanical bull" of a beat provided by Timbaland, yet Aaliyah floats over it like it’s a cloud. It was her first and only UK Number 1, reaching the top spot in January 2002, just months after that devastating plane crash in the Bahamas. There’s a bitter irony in the title. She was becoming more than just a woman in the eyes of the public; she was becoming an icon, a "future goth" legend, and a tragic "what-if" story all at once.
The Secret Writing Process of Static Major
Most fans assume Timbaland just handed Aaliyah a finished track. That’s not quite how it went. The real architect of the "vibe" was Stephen "Static Major" Garrett. He was the one who really understood her vocal pocket.
Static actually recorded an entire version of the song himself first. He kept listening to his original demo and felt it wasn't big enough. He literally went back to the drawing board and rewrote the whole thing to make it "bigger and better." Aaliyah hadn't even heard the first version. When she finally stepped into the booth, she was working with a lyricist who treated her voice like an instrument, not just a way to deliver a hook.
The lyrics are famously terse. They don't waste time. "Morning massages / New bones in your closet." That line is legendary. It’s arguably the best moment in the song because it hints at a relationship that is intoxicating but maybe a little bit toxic. It’s about the promise of being everything to someone, to the point where they don't need to look anywhere else.
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Why the Production Still Sounds Like 2026
We call this "Baroque liquid funk." That’s a fancy way of saying Timbaland was doing things with synths in 2001 that people are still trying to copy today. The track is set at 88 beats per minute, which is that perfect mid-tempo sweet spot. It's not too fast for the radio, but it’s heavy enough for the club.
- The Squelchy Synths: Those dirty, grinding electronic sounds at the end of the song? That was Timbaland pushing the boundaries of what R&B was allowed to sound like.
- The Vocal Layering: Aaliyah’s voice is multi-tracked. If you listen with headphones, you'll hear her overlapping herself, echoing phrases like "tempt me" and "drive me."
- Back-Masking: Toward the end, there's a middle eight where the vocals are actually flipped. It adds to that "sensual derangement" people talk about when they describe her late-career work.
It's amazing how she kept her composure. While someone like Beyoncé might have used that beat to show off her power, Aaliyah did the opposite. She stayed quiet. She whispered. She made you lean in to hear what she was saying. That’s why the Aaliyah more than a woman lyrics feel so intimate. She isn't shouting at you; she’s telling you a secret.
The "Bonnie and Clyde" Misconception
People often miss the shift in the second verse. The song starts with promises of massages and devotion, but by the end, she’s comparing the relationship to Bonnie and Clyde.
"We'll be like Bonnie and Clyde / No more separation"
This isn't just a "I love you" song. It’s an "us against the world" anthem. It frames the relationship as something illicit or at least incredibly private. There is a "core of the uncanny" here. The lyrics intensify as the song progresses, moving from physical comfort to a kind of obsessive togetherness. It’s dark. It’s sleek. It’s basically the blueprint for every "alt-R&B" artist that came out in the 2010s and 2020s.
The Legacy of the Final Performance
Aaliyah’s last televised performance was this song. She did it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in July 2001. Watching it now is surreal. She looked so in control, so ready for the next decade of her life.
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The music video, directed by Dave Meyers, is equally iconic. It features Aaliyah and her dancers inside what looks like a giant combustion engine. The churning pistons and the metallic surfaces perfectly matched the "harsh-sounding synthetic bass" of the track. It was filmed in Los Angeles right before she left for the Bahamas to shoot "Rock the Boat."
Initially, "More Than a Woman" was supposed to be the second single. But radio stations started playing "Rock the Boat" early, so the label switched the order. Because of that, "More Than a Woman" became her final gift to the charts.
Actionable Insights for R&B Fans
If you're trying to really "get" the Aaliyah sound, you have to look past the hits.
- Listen to the Reference Tracks: Look up Static Major’s original demos. It changes how you hear the final version when you realize how much of the "swag" came from his specific phrasing.
- Study the Vocal Economics: Aaliyah’s "breathily and economically" delivered lines are a lesson in "less is more." If you’re a singer or producer, notice how she never over-sings a complex beat.
- Check the Posthumous History: Understand that this song’s UK Number 1 spot was a historic moment—it was the first time a posthumous #1 was replaced by another (George Harrison’s "My Sweet Lord").
The tragedy often overshadows the technical brilliance, but Aaliyah more than a woman lyrics stand on their own. They represent a woman who was fully in command of her art, working with a team that wasn't afraid to make R&B sound "weird." It wasn't just a pop song; it was a glimpse into a future we never quite got to see in full.
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Next Steps for You: To truly appreciate the production complexity, listen to the "Masters at Work" main mix of the track. It strips away some of the radio polish and lets you hear the intricate interplay between the digital strings and the bass. You might also want to compare the vocal arrangement of this track to "We Need A Resolution" to see how Aaliyah and Timbaland were experimenting with "glitchy" vocals throughout that final album cycle.