Aaliyah‘s back catalogue is set to be released next month and will be available on all streaming platforms. The release comes from a new deal struck with her uncle Barry Hankerson, the founder of Aaliyah’s former label Blackground Records and EMPIRE. A handful of releases from the late singer’s catalogue will be available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify on August 20th.
While fans can rejoice at the news of new music, the release is met with criticism from Aaliyah’s estate, stating that they condemn the “unauthorized projects”. In a lengthy post to Instagram, the estate of Aaliyah stated,
“Protecting Aaliyah’s legacy is, and will always be, our focus. 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.” The family then added, “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.”
The recordings are set to be released within a span of two months, starting with the LP ‘One in a Million‘, which was released in 1996 before her 2001 self-titled album. ‘I Care 4 U‘ and ‘Ultimate Aaliyah‘ is slated to follow in October.
The singer was tragically killed in August 2001 in a plane crash en route to the Bahamas. Her most notable hits included ‘Are You That Somebody’, ‘You Are Love’, ‘Rock The Boat’, and ‘Miss You’.
Image credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
