Aaliyah’s uncle, who has been notoriously guarded when it comes to sharing her catalog, has given his approval for the sample in Normani and Cardi B’s “Wild Side” — sort of.
Barry Hankerson, the founder of Blackground Records, owns the masters to the late singer’s masters and manages her catalog. And he’s usually not very open about sharing it. Her music is not available on streaming services, and it is rarely ever sampled.
But speaking with TMZ, Hankerson made it clear that he believes his niece would approve. He said she “always encouraged young women pursuing their music careers, to achieve their dreams.” He believes that it is clear that the track was inspired by Aaliyah’s hit “One In A Million.”
“I believe that Aaliyah would be very supportive of a young Black woman that chose to emulate her music and style,” Hankerson told the outlet.
He did say that it would have been “more honorable” if Normani had reached out to him to clear the sample. An attorney for the record label confirmed that the sample was never officially cleared for use. However, Normani’s camp maintains that “Wild Side” doesn’t even contain a direct sample of the song.
In the end, he said won’t stand in the way and even wished Normani well.
