Aaliyah was raised in America.
Aaliyah . She was born in Brooklyn , New York , and raised in Detroit , Michigan . Detroit ( [ dᵻˈtrɔɪt ] ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan , the largest city on the United States -- Canada border , and the seat of Wayne County . The municipality of Detroit had a 2015 estimated population of 677,116 , making it the 21st-most populous city in the United States . Michigan [ ˈmɪʃᵻgən ] is a state in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States . Michigan is the tenth most populous of the 50 United States , with the 11th most extensive total area ( the largest state by total area east of the Mississippi River ) .