Aaliyah’s Uncle Apologizes And Explains Why Her Music Has Been Absent From Streaming Platforms

Aaliyah’s sophomore album One In A Million made its debut on streaming platforms Friday after nearly two decades since the singer passed away in a plane crash. 

The singer’s uncle, Barry Hankerson, posted a statement to Instagram about the re-release, including the reason why it took so long for his niece’s music to be available, thanking and apologizing to her fans.

“Thank you to all of her many fans for keeping her music alive. I’m sorry it took so long, but when you lose a family member so unexpectedly, it takes time to deal with that type of grief. I decided to release Aaliyah’s music in order to keep her legacy alive,” Hankerson wrote.

He also included a thank you to Aaliyah’s parents, who also served as her managers.

“I can not take the credit for managing Aaliyah as that was never a title I held,” he said in the statement. “That title belonged to Diane Haughton and her husband who managed Aaliyah from the start of her career until her passing.

He added,” I want to thank Diane, Aaliyah’s manager, for allowing and choosing Blackground Records to become her label. I want to thank Jomo Hankerson for being an integral part of the whole process. We created a signature sound, images, and visuals that will live forever. After 25 years, we are still charting high numbers.”

One In A Million was re-released in partnership between Hankerson’s Blackground Records 2.0 and EMPIRE. The entire Blackground catalog will soon be made available, including albums by Toni Braxton, Tank, Timbaland & Magoo, and JoJo.

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