A long-running battle between the estate of the late singer Aaliyah and her uncle/ former manager and label chief Barry Hankerson became public on Wednesday after teasers about the singer’s music that will be possibly streaming were posted online.
Aaliyah, a teen R&B star, who died in a plane crash 20 years ago with members of her crew, is one of the most iconic performers of the 90s and early 2000’s era — but the “One In a Million” singer’s songs has never been on a streaming platform.
On Thursday, Hankerson’s label Blackground announced a distribution deal with Empire accompanied by a release schedule that includes four Aaliyah releases: “One In a Million,” “Aaliyah,” “I Care 4 U,” and a greatest-hits compilation.
The albums are scheduled to be released beginning on August 20 and continuing through October.
It remains unclear why, if Hankerson controls the rights to the recordings, previous efforts to release them were not successful — but the estate posted a message on social media late Wednesday that was clearly aimed at Hankerson.
In a long interview published by Billboard on Thursday, Hankerson addressed the specifics of the dispute between himself and his sister, Aaliyah’s mother Diane, only briefly: “There was a conversation we had that she didn’t want the music out, and whatever my sister told me, I tried to do what she wanted me to do,” he said. “As a parent, I would understand if she did not want the music out. Because who wants to hear the voice of your daughter who’s gone? So when she said that to me, I said, ‘OK, we’re not putting it out. I don’t know when, but one day we will.’ We literally packed everything up and went on to something else.”
In recent months social media posts from both the estate and Blackground had an optimistic tone and said they were working to resolve the situation.
The estate’s post reads in part, “To our loyal fans: We are excited to announce that communication has commenced between the estate and various record labels about the status of Aaliyah’s music catalogue, as well as its availability on streaming platforms in the near future,” it reads. “Thank you for your continued love and support. More updates to come!”
However, in a January 2021 post it asked for patience “until we can resolve all of the issues in freeing her music.”
Hankerson said that he took the first statement to be a green light to move ahead with the re-releases — but according to the estate’s statement that’s not the case.
