Why Aaliyah’s music catalogue hitting streaming services is bittersweet

Text by Inya Tennyson

As of today we can finally stream our beloved Baby Girl’s second album One in a million on Spotify and Apple Music. The rollout of Aaliyah's catalogue commences with her second album and will continue with soundtracks of the films Exit Wounds and

Romeo Must Die, in which Aaliyah starred.

Fans will be treated to her self-titled and final album in September, to be completed by the compilations Ultimate Aaliyah and

I Care 4 U in October. 

Up until now we’ve only been able to stream Aaliyah’s debut album Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, since its masters are owned by Jive Records. 20 years after her tragic passing, the long awaited moment has finally arrived; You will no longer have to rely on YouTube videos to blast “Rock the Boat” through your speakers or sing the original version of “4 Page Letter“ at the top of your lungs. At last you can complete your favourite playlist with these and more legendary tracks.

Why did it take this long?

The notorious label Blackground Records, which is co-founded by Aaliyah’s uncle Barry Hankerson, holds the majority of Aaliyah’s masters and has recently signed an agreement with distribution company Empire to make her remaining catalogue available on streaming platforms.

In early August Aaliyah’s official Twitter account put up a statement saying “For 20 years we have battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish... This unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah's music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate compels our hearts to express a word - forgiveness.” Estate attorney Paul LiCasa added that “the estate was not made aware of the impending release of the catalogue until after the deal was complete and plans were in place.” With Hankerson owning Aaliyah’s masters this allows him to close deals without the estate’s approval.

Although this is a joyous occasion for all R&B lovers, it leaves Aaliyah’s other family members with a bittersweet feeling. Hankerson claims he’d been honouring the wishes of his sister, Aaliyah’s mother Diane, to not release the late singer’s music. Mother Diane runs Aaliyah’s estate alongside her son, Aaliyah’s brother Rashad. In a time where posthumous projects are in fashion and seen as goldmines by some to leech off late artists’ work, it becomes harder and harder to honour legacies for the right reasons.

Hankerson told Billboard in an interview that Blackground’s new partnership with Empire is also set to bring LP’s by Timbaland & Magoo, Tank, Toni Braxton and JoJo to streaming services in the coming months.