Baby Girl

by Kathy Iandoli

  In the wake of Aaliyah’s death, however, Hankerson spiraled, and his business was put on hold. One by one, his artists sued him. Toni Braxton—who at one time was managed by Hankerson and later a part of his label—sued in 2007. The heart of the suit was that Braxton felt Hankerson used dirty business dealings to cleverly lure her away from Arista Records to Blackground, while he still managed her. This caused her to ruin her relationship with Arista, though Hankerson alleged that she was dropped from the label over low record sales. Per Braxton, he initially wanted $1 million to only partially free her from her contract, to which Braxton retorted that she was owed over $10 million in losses for going to Blackground to begin with. The 2007 lawsuit also explained that Barry wanted a return on a $375,000 advance; he denied all of those allegations. They eventually settled outside of court. Two years later, Timbaland sued Hankerson over lack of funds for his projects and for also negatively affecting his career as a producer. JoJo sued in 2013, following a long haul of conflicts with Blackground—which included shelving her third album with Blackground for over half a decade and refusing to release her from her recording contract, which was signed by her parents in 2004 and should have ended in 2011. It was settled outside of court, and by January of 2014, JoJo was finally freed from her contract and inked a deal with Atlantic Records. Producers have also filed suits for dirty dealings, and rarely anyone who has participated in anything Blackground related has had a pleasant word to say about the experience.

  Artists like Missy Elliott and Ginuwine have been able to survive unscathed, since neither was signed to Blackground, so they didn’t fall victim to the label’s pregnant pause, which halted all releases and operations. Timbaland was able to salvage two projects thanks to their being tied to his imprint Mosley Music Group—the aforementioned Shock Value and Shock Value II. But his projects with Magoo unfortunately have no streaming presence. He isn’t alone, though some have found ways around it. JoJo rerecorded her entire Blackground catalog in 2018, which allowed it all to exist on streaming platforms in its new form.

  Blackground eventually partnered with an independent music publisher called Reservoir Media, and in 2012 Hankerson sold them part of Blackground. Aaliyah was the bargaining chip, as her masters were included in that deal. Reservoir’s CEO, Golnar Khosrowshahi, told Complex in 2016 that they planned to pin the Aaliyah release to the tenth anniversary of her passing, but the milestone came and went. There was recorded material left as well. Aaliyah had several songs and parts of songs recorded before she died, over a dozen in fact. It was Hankerson’s job (and, if you ask the fans, his obligation) to find a producer who could piece these all together. Since his relationship with Timbaland soured, it would seem impossible for Tim to want to get involved; Missy too. In the same interview with Complex in 2016, Reservoir COO Rell Lafargue blamed the lack of new material on Barry’s complicated and long-term grief over losing his niece. “Barry can’t be in the room when the new music is playing,” expressed Lafargue.

  It’s because of Khosrowshahi and Reservoir that Aaliyah’s music had been licensed to newer artists and had doubly kept her relevant. A sample of Aaliyah harmonizing was used on A$AP Rocky’s 2012 hit single “Fuckin’ Problems” featuring 2 Chainz, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar off Long. Live. A$AP. The track was co-written and coproduced by Noah “40” Shebib. Drake also coproduced under the name C. Papi (he later referred to himself as Champagne Papi). The original sample came from Aaliyah’s vocals mixed under Tank’s for “Come Over,” later repurposed for another posthumous track called “They Say (Quit Hatin’),” pieced together with fragments of another unreleased song. Chris Brown was able to credit Aaliyah as a feature on his 2013 track “Don’t Think They Know,” which was taken from her cut with Playa’s Digital Black (with the same title) and also included previously unreleased takes from their recording session. T-Pain even acquired vocals from Aaliyah for a song called “Girlfriends.”

  The one artist who is probably the most affected by the fickle ways of the presumed estate is Drake. Aaliyah recorded a song in 1999 called “Enough Said,” but it was never finished. In 2012, Drake completed the song with Noah “40” Shebib and Blackground in turn uploaded the song to the label’s strangely present Soundcloud account. Drake was simultaneously tapped to be the artist who would finally get to create the posthumous album that everyone was waiting for. He made it public, and “Enough Said” announced its arrival. The sixteen-track album was supposed to arrive at the close of 2012, including previously unreleased tracks and vocals of Aaliyah’s that would be reimagined into songs with Drake and 40.

  Drake and 40 were arguably the perfect pair to handle this project, as outwardly die-hard Aaliyah fans with Drake even sporting a tattoo of her on his body to boot. However, it was 40 who was first approached by Blackground to work on the project. Knowing Drake’s shared fandom for Aaliyah, 40 brought him on board. Both Drake and 40 laid the groundwork for the album’s arrival.

  Months later, Timbaland and Missy Elliott vocalized that they would not be taking part in the project. In an interview with Angie Martinez for HOT 97, Martinez asked both Timbaland and Missy to clarify, as the rumor mill suggested they were a part of the project and then not a part of it. “40 called me, he was like, ‘Man, this was not supposed to be… it came to me in a different situation,’ ” Timbaland explained. “It wasn’t even about an album, what he was explaining to me. So I didn’t know; when everybody would call me, I was kinda like, ‘I don’t wanna hear that mess.’ So stayed out of it until he actually called me… but we really removed ourselves from that. I didn’t wanna hear nothing about it.” Timbaland continued to say that 40 told him he initially only anticipated doing one record and then an album followed. This would explain why Blackground planned to release an album of unreleased songs, along with fragments of vocals that they anticipated would be sewn together by Drake and 40. Still, Timbaland was confused, and from his conversation with 40, it seemed that 40 was confused as well.

  When Angie asked if the call came asking them to formally be a part of it, would they do it? Missy advised: “Well, my response would be a little different because I have to respect her family. She has a mother; she has a brother; she has a father that she’s very close with. And until they come and say, ‘We’re ready to do another Aaliyah album,’ then I don’t really wanna step over and try to get into that.” Missy added that while fans like herself would love to hear another Aaliyah album, a time stamp can’t be placed upon her family’s grief. “Until they come and say, ‘We’re ready to do an Aaliyah album,’ I just feel like moralistically and respect-wise,” Missy continued, with Angie completing the thought, “you don’t want anything to do with it.” Missy’s response was, “No.”

  Timbaland further took umbrage at it a year later, challenging both Drake and Chris Brown for using Aaliyah’s vocals in an effort to create whole new songs. “In music, people always say, ‘I [wanna] do a song with Aaliyah.’ It would never work. Chris Brown got a record, it won’t work. Drake can go do a record with Aaliyah. It ain’t gonna work because Aaliyah music only works with her soul mate,” he told REVOLT in 2013. “Which is me.” He later apologized to Brown over Twitter for his comments, explaining Aaliyah is a sensitive subject for him.

  It was 40 who was crushed the most by the disapproval, over not understanding the complicated dynamic of Aaliyah’s estate, family, and fandom. “I was naïve to the politics surrounding Aaliyah’s legacy and a bit ignorant to Timbaland’s relationship and everybody else involved and how they’d feel,” 40 explained to Vibe magazine in 2014. “Tim said to me, ‘Don’t stop. Make the album.’ I think that was Tim taking the position of, ‘I’m not going to stop you. If you’re not going to do it, that’s your decision.’ ” It was Aaliyah’s mother who sealed the project’s fate, by saying she didn’t want the album out. By 2014, it was agreed upon that the project was canned. “The world reacting to Drake’s involvement so negatively, I just wanted nothing to do with it,” 40 told Vibe. “Ultim
ately, I wasn’t comfortable and didn’t like the stigma.” This wasn’t the only instance where artists were approached to utilize Aaliyah’s vocals by one representative of Aaliyah’s estate, only to be told by another that it’s against the family’s wishes. It’s a confusing game at best, where any artist would give anything to work with Aaliyah, even posthumously. Maybe one day these unfinished tracks will all come to light in the form of a long-awaited new album. Then again, maybe not.

  Aaliyah’s songs have been sampled numerous times, as everyone from Gucci Mane to Ariana Grande has grabbed a sample or two and added it to their own tracks. Over the years, many artists from DJ Khaled to Kendrick Lamar have even name-checked Aaliyah in their songs, honoring her in little ways.

  Over the years, some Aaliyah tracks have leaked. In 2016, one of Drake’s songs using Aaliyah’s vocals (called “Talk Is Cheap”) surfaced. Years prior, “They Say (Quit Hatin’)” and “Girl Friends” leaked, along with “Where Could He Be,” which was initially supposed to appear on the Aaliyah album, and a cover of Donny Hathaway’s “Giving Up.” Sometimes songs will surface online and immediately disappear. Other times a batch of reference tracks and demos will surface, where Static Major sings and Aaliyah chimes in with ad-libs. Aaliyah’s music has even been illegally uploaded to streaming platforms and circulated like wildfire, before promptly being pulled right back down. It’s become a mind game, at best. Her videos have all been uploaded to an “official” YouTube channel, though in 2020 it was found that even that channel was managed by a fan and not Blackground. Fans had begun to publicly challenge anyone remotely associated with the distribution of Aaliyah’s music over social media, including Reservoir. By the end of 2020, the estate publicly announced they were taking the reins on Aaliyah’s YouTube channel.

  On August 25, 2017, Reservoir released a statement explaining their place in Aaliyah’s legacy, which was to “represent her catalog’s songs, songwriters, and copyrights through careful administration and licensing, as it is our privilege to do.” They then continued to advise that they do not own her masters, despite the original reported structure of their deal with Hankerson. “While Reservoir is honored to work with songs written for Aaliyah in this capacity, we do not represent any songs written by Aaliyah herself, nor can we act as a distributor of any of her recorded music as a record label would. We do not own her master recordings and thus, cannot make them available for streaming or sale.”

  Within a few years, Aaliyah was seemingly removed from their website, and in an anonymous email from a Reservoir employee they specify: “We previously published the Blackground catalog, and I’m not able to discuss Aaliyah as we are in a non-disclosure agreement with them.”

  So the onus, presumably, returns to Barry Hankerson.

  As Barry Hankerson continues to hold his catalog hostage, where does that leave an artist like Aaliyah, who has no one but her fans fighting to hear her music?

  For years, the only music of Aaliyah’s that’s been available on streaming platforms is in the form of some scattered collaborations and soundtrack appearances and the entire Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number album, because it was released by Jive and at the time Hankerson didn’t own her masters. That means that once again, R. Kelly becomes associated with Aaliyah’s music and success. Not to mention, his publishing points attached to every stream. How is that fair? Well, it isn’t, but the powers that be have made it this way for decades now. What it has done, however, is increased the novelty value of Aaliyah’s catalog in physical form. Vinyl, cassettes, and CDs all cost upwards of $50 or more on various bidding sites like eBay and other music marketplaces. Her Aaliyah and One in a Million vinyl records are often sold for hundreds of dollars. For most, it’s no longer about opening it and listening to it, either. Aaliyah has become a collectible, which again has prevented her musical legacy from thriving.

  The question remains, why is Barry Hankerson holding his niece’s music so tightly? While he’s hardly spoken publicly on it, many believe that it’s because of the overwhelming guilt he’s felt for her untimely death, and he is willfully not capitalizing on her catalog as a sign of respect to her mother and brother (since he’s the owner of her masters). Conversely, others believe he is waiting for the right time to strike, as if every piece of music held valuable stock potential and he’s anxiously awaiting their IPOs. There is no perfect time to strike. No anniversary that will somehow validate the release. The demand for Aaliyah’s music has remained consistent, and with every passing birthday of hers or milestone year commemorating her passing, fans anxiously hope that that day is the day. In the spring of 2020, fans rallied together and formed the hashtag #FreeAaliyahMusic along with an entire Instagram page dedicated to promoting the music, as well as an online petition. The concept started during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Timbaland and Swizz Beatz formed the digital battle between artists called #Verzuz and fans wanted Aaliyah somehow in on it, especially when both Timbaland and Johntá Austin played her music during their respective battles.

  There have been a series of undelivered promises on when the music will finally be released, though some light has been flashed at the end of the tunnel.

  On August 25, 2020, representatives for Aaliyah’s estate made the following announcement about the status of her catalog on streaming platforms:

  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 catalog, as well as its availability on streaming platforms in the near future. Thank you for your continued love and support. More updates to come.

  They returned again with an announcement on Aaliyah’s birthday (January 16, 2021) to state that the music matters “are not within our control” and “unfortunately, take time.” The estate collaborated with the company Bumpboxx, and that same day released a limited-run series of Aaliyah-stamped speakers, through which ironically her music can’t even be streamed and played.

  We may never have the opportunity to hear her unreleased material in full, but by the time these lines are read maybe Aaliyah’s released music will be back out in the world. It may even have a new home at a brand-new record label. Maybe Aaliyah will no longer continue to be stigmatized by R. Kelly, since a search on streaming platforms will again only lead to work with his name on it. It’s a connection that still haunts her, even when the counterargument is that their association should be wiped from our memory. But how? No one can open streaming sites and listen to her work in succession, marveling at her incomparable growth over seven years. No. They have one album to stream from an anxious fifteen-year-old, hedging her bets on stardom through a predator she thought she loved. Further, through every stream of Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number there’s only one person winning both musically and financially—and that’s R. Kelly. Maybe her catalog will finally be released in full and new fans will finally begin to discover her magic, while old fans can relive the glory days of when Aaliyah once walked the planet.

  It’s a devastatingly open-ended answer to the long-asked question of when can we finally hear Aaliyah’s music again?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CAME TO GIVE LOVE

  I came to spread my love to the fans across the world. Reach out to you, touch the hearts of boys and girls.

  —Aaliyah, “Came to Give Love”

  In a world where recognition from your favorite artist is just a retweet away, loving Aaliyah is a thankless job. Still, she has an army ready, willing, and able to fight—assembled and maintaining her legacy for no glory. It’s not as if they will be able to show up side-stage at her concert waiting for a wave, or at a meet and greet where she would see her core fans and call them by their names. There’s no acceptance speech at award shows, where they can hear her thank them on national television for their decades of loyalty. There’s no T-shirt, CD, or press photo for her to sign, where they forever keep the pen. No, these are dedicated fans who exist for the love and the love alone. They excavate t
hrough the catacombs of the deep internet, in search of more bread crumbs—though not ones that lead to Aaliyah’s whereabouts, since we all unfortunately know that answer. Rather, they lead to new information about her, new photos, new insight on their fallen star, and, if the fans are really lucky, new music.

  Considering digital service providers (also called DSPs) like Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL are the new norm for how we receive our music—and CDs are practically a thing of the past—the lengthy absence of Aaliyah’s music on all of the streaming platforms almost did more to amplify the magnitude of her legacy for new fans, especially. Kids born after her passing are not used to a world where they’re told no, especially in an era where the solution to every problem is “there’s an app for that.” There’s something dynamic about this Generation Z and their willingness to fight for something they want, whereas the generations before them (Generation X, Xennials, and even Millennials) sort of surrendered to the notion that they would just never hear Aaliyah in digital form. They hug her CDs tightly, probably have some ripped MP3s on their computers (since they’re all a part of the Napster generation), and if they were proactive (or have $100 for eBay) they have Aaliyah’s vinyl. Generation Z is different. They mobilize and form mini armies, complete with petitions and demands for the music they want to hear and projects they want to be seen. They also worked harder to be Aaliyah fans. They don’t remember her heyday; most weren’t even alive when she was. They’ve learned about Aaliyah from their parents now, or they catch on to the references made from artists out today. The point is, Aaliyah is now their Bob Marley. She’s their Jimi Hendrix, their Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Jim Morrison. She’s their fallen idol, an iconoclast who is the reason their favorite living singers even have a shot at fame.