Jay-Z Seen Cozying up to Aaliyah in Never-Before-Seen Photos Taken a Year Before Her Death

It seems that Jay-Z and late R&B singer Aaliyah may have had a history together that's only now coming to light. Earlier today, a handful of photos from 2000 surfaced that showed Aaliyah living it up at a 4th of July party in the Hamptons almost two decades ago with the future Mr. Beyonce. You can see the photos themselves at The Daily Mail here.

"Jay-Z had just had a big hit with Big Pimpin' and he decided to have this party with Damon and the rest of his crew for the 4th of July. Diddy was there too," an anonymous attendee told The Daily Mail. "Aaliyah was becoming super famous at the time and had just starred in her first movie, Romeo Must Die, so they were all doing really well. Jay-Z rented a mansion in East Hampton and they had a catered barbecue in a tent in the back yard. It was a really fun party."

Along with these new revelations recently came the revelation from Jay-Z's former business partner, Damon Dash. While Dash himself was dated Aaliyah, he said that his one-time partner "tried very hard" to woo the singer.

"Now that Damon has said what he said it all makes sense," said the attendee. "They were hugging each other and you could totally see there was a chemistry between them."

Despite his best efforts, it seems that the then-30-year-old rapper was unsuccessful. Two years later, he'd appear as a guest on Beyoncé's 2002 song, "'03 Bonnie and Clyde," which fueled speculation that the pair were seeing one another. They were later married in a private ceremony in the spring of 2008, and currently have three children together.

Tragically, Aaliyah died in a plane crash in August of 2001. Despite her short time in the spotlight, she earned the nicknames "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop," and still ranks as one of the most popular R&B singers in history.

Recently, Jay-Z has also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick. After the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was going to have his regular, private workout evaluated by more than a half-dozen reps from the NFL, they weren't willing to accommodate his requests. As a result, Kaepernick decided to move his workout to a nearby high school. In response, Jay-Z said that he was "disappointed" that Kaepernick "turned a legitimate workout into a publicity stunt."