Looks like Aaliyah’s brother Rashad and her estate are not happy about the release of her music to streaming services. As her 20th anniversary nears, her estate is currently at odds with Aaliyah’s uncle, Blackground CEO Barry Hankerson, who appears to be taking the charge. Last night, the newly relaunched Blackground Records 2.0 set up new social media accounts and launched a new website, AaliyahIsComing.com, while promoting the hashtag #AaliyahIsComing.
The hashtag started trending as fans rejoiced at the news over the long-awaited release of her music. In a statement posted from her official social media accounts (and Rashad's Instagram), they accuse Hankerson of trying to “leech off” the singer’s life’s work. They say he's using "unsavoury tactics to release unauthorized projects associated to her name", and that their commitment is only to "protect Aaliyah’s legacy." The uncle is apparently trying to to release her music without the family's consent. They feel he is only doing it for his own personal gain.
It needs to be understood that Blackground and the estate are two SEPARATE entities. Her brother claims they have no say in what happens with Aaliyah’s music, and when it’s released they won’t receive a penny of it. They stress that this would have been extremely helpful to her memorial fund. I've never seen so many Aaliyah fans unite in their hatred for her estate. And until both parties can work together and figure this sh*t out, sadly, her catalog will remain in limbo.
I don’t think the family’s consent should be necessary unless that’s what AALIYAH wanted. She chose to do music, and most artists want their music to be shared and to outlive them. If their hole protest to the releases is because of Barry, then this is only getting weirder. The world lost Aaliyah, and we miss her. At the very least, can we have her art?
2 Comments:
I don’t think the family’s consent should be necessary unless that’s what AALIYAH wanted. She chose to do music, and most artists want their music to be shared and to outlive them. If their hole protest to the releases is because of Barry, then this is only getting weirder. The world lost Aaliyah, and we miss her. At the very least, can we have her art?
I think their main reservation is that they're not getting a penny from it, which would have benefited her memorial fund.
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