Something’s not clean in the buttermilk. For 20 full years, fans of Aaliyah Dana Haughton have been left with nothing but questions after her untimely death on August 25, 2001. The first one being, why didn’t her team protect her and make the decision that was right for her before boarding an overloaded jet? Why was it so important for the luggage and equipment to be on the same fateful flight as the star? Who was responsible for that call rushing her back to Florida… and who was responsible for setting up the music video shoot, period? Was Aaliyah a pawn in someone else’s game in the music industry? Then, finally, why would the Aaliyah estate and Blackground label head Barry Hankerson tie up her music so long to the point that time almost smothered Aaliyah’s legacy into oblivion?
R&B fans have been able to cope with the absence of Aaliyah’s music through leaked morsels of music, interviews, and other people’s personal accounts of interacting with her from videos on YouTube and fan pages. Meanwhile, the music industry kept us occupied with the rising stars of fan favorites Beyonce, Rihanna, Brandy, and so forth. But, there was still an emptiness, a missing part that has never been filled.
See, Aaliyah’s mystical eccentricity coupled with her down-to-earth appeal is what made her who she was, and no one could quite fit that mold no matter how many snakes they held or choreographed moments they had. Even their attempts to transcend into film as singers-turned-actors didn’t carry the same impact as the dear Aaliyah, who is mostly remembered for her debut acting role as Trish in Romeo Must Die.
Her beauty and gracefulness exuded during her time in the spotlight — yet, underneath it all, broken-but-resilient fans recognized that very same spirit in her and this was before we knew details surrounding her being taken advantage of by people closest to her. So, it was no surprise when she would drop songs that would pinch the nerve endings of a fractured heart, such as “Heartbroken,” “Never No More,” and the inspiring anthem “Try Again.”
To this day, it’s unfathomable why for so long those who are managing her estate would keep the gifts that Aaliyah left the world to themselves. It had to be over money — or principles. But, now that Hankerson, who is Aaliyah’s uncle and former manager, has greenlit a distribution deal with Empire under the new handle Blackground Records 2.0, fans will now finally get to stream the “Back In One Piece” singer’s music — so we think.
The plan is for her double platinum-selling album One In A Million (1996) to release to streaming platforms on Aug. 20, followed by the Romeo Must Die (2000) soundtrack hit “Try Again” on Sept. 3, Aaliyah (2001) on Sept. 10, and posthumous compilation albums I Care 4 U and Ultimate Aaliyah on Oct. 8. Aaliyah’s first album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number (1994), has been available on streaming services due to distribution rights being controlled by both Blackground and Zomba Recording label Jive, whose parent company was Sony Music.
The Aaliyah estate recently released a statement as they posted the tag #IStandWithAaliyah:
“For 20 years we have battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish. We have always been confused as to why there is such a tenacity in causing more pain alongside what we already have to cope with for the rest of our lives. Now, in this 20th year, 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. Although we will continue to defend ourselves and her legacy lawfully and justly, we want to preempt the inevitable attacks on our character by all the individuals who have emerged from the shadows to leech off of Aaliyah’s life’s work.“
At first glance, it appears that the estate is primarily focused on protecting the people who were involved in Aaliyah’s life and who are currently alive today. Yes, that would include Aaliyah’s family, industry peers, and romantic partners. But, a diehard fan would ask, how would releasing Aaliyah’s music evoke the tarnishing that the estate references? It’s just her music, right? Well, it depends on what will be done with her music.
Wendy Williams aided in producing a TV film about Aaliyah’s life through Lifetime, and needless to say the lack of authentic Aaliyah music and disapproval from her estate really damaged the credibility of the biopic. If people can license Aaliyah’s music all willy nilly, then there’s a chance that their unauthorized projects, series and biopics may be perceived by viewers as credible and approved by her family which may not be the case. This leaves her story in the hands of potential individuals “who have emerged from the shadows” to complicate her legacy and even conjure fabricated stories on the forever 22-year-old legend to suit their own agendas.
Speaking of, book author Kathy Iandoli wrote a biography on the life of Aaliyah called Baby Girl: Better Known As Aaliyah, where she recounts Aaliyah’s life and career, along with her time spent with disgraced R&B heavyweight R. Kelly and her final days filming her last music video “Rock The Boat.”
In the book, Iandoli writes about witness Kingsley Russell, who was 13 years old at the time of Aaliyah’s death. Working as a baggage carrier for his family’s business in Abaco Island, Bahamas, Russell was in the taxi that transported Aaliyah to the airport for her flight back to Florida. According to Russell, Aaliyah was dealing with a headache when she expressed that she did not want to get on the plane after hearing that the plane was overloaded with luggage and equipment.
As Aaliyah sat in the taxi, an unnamed individual checked on Aaliyah and allegedly gave her an unidentified pill, in which Russell says was possibly a sleeping pill. Shortly after, Aaliyah fell asleep and was carried on the plane and buckled in. The plane crashed swiftly after take off, killing everyone on the plane, including the pilot who tested positive for cocaine and alcohol use. Several reports came out misinterpreting Iandoli’s biography on the “One In A Million” singer, summing up that the pill given to Aaliyah was actually someone drugging her before carrying her to the plane, according to an article by Rolling Stone.
“When [Russell] told me about this pill, it would have been wrong of me to write it off as Advil, but it would also have been wrong of me to completely say it was a drug that knocked her out, but I had to acknowledge there was a pill,” Iandoli told Rolling Stone. “You can’t not do that, especially when this man was the one who handed her the cup of water. He specified that she had a headache, and I put that in the book. Maybe it was just for her headache, but the fact of the matter was she boarded that plane, from the way he described it, very unaware that she was boarding a plane, especially for someone who minutes prior, was adamant about not getting on the plane. All we know is that she did not want to get on the plane, something was handed to her, and she fell back to sleep. I had to present all of this, I had to.”
Despite admitting that the estate has an issue with Aaliyah’s music being released and unauthorized projects being approved, the estate’s attorney Paul LiCalsi claims that the estate is not the one that has held up the music.
“Aaliyah’s Estate has always been ready to share Aaliyah’s musical legacy but has been met with contention and a gross lack of transparency. For almost 20 years, Blackground has failed to account to the Estate with any regularity in accordance with her recording contracts. In addition, the Estate was not made aware of the impending release of the catalog until after the deal was complete and plans were in place. The Estate has demanded that Blackground provide a full account of its past earnings, and full disclosure of the terms of its new deal to distribute Aaliyah’s long embargoed music.”
Sounds like a money issue. Like Aaliyah said, “Read Between The Lines.”
