Written by R. Kelly, “Age ain’t nothing but a number” is a ballad from a young girl to an older boy (or man) about how age difference doesn’t matter in matters of the heart.

The title of this song and the album itself are scandalous in that it was rumored that Aaliyah was romantically involved with her producer R. Kelly. At the time she was 15 (the song recorded when she was 14), and he was 27. It was also rumored that they married under false pretenses – A marriage certificate was printed in Vibe magazine stating that she was 18.

The most convincing version of what happened is told by Kelly’s ex-friend Demetrius Smith, he asserts it was a pregnancy scare:

he was given the advice that he could protect himself from the legal ramifications of the situation by marrying her. Smith’s account of what happened next: During a break in the tour, Smith and Kelly flew together to Illinois; Smith procured a fake state ID for Aaliyah from a friend in the Public Aid office, and they got a backup ID through someone they knew at Federal Express. That night, after the ceremony in a suite at a Sheraton hotel, Kelly and Smith flew back to Miami to resume the tour.

Since this song was made R. Kelly has had numerous sexual abuse allegations made against him, putting the song in an even more negative light than what it was originally released.