To the delight and dismay of diehard Aaliyah fans, the late singer’s posthumous album, Unstoppable, will be released later this month. Following the success of the LP’s lead single, “Poison” featuring The Weeknd, Barry Hankerson shared with The Geno Jones Show, “because of that success, we think it’ll only get better.” Currently, “Poison” has amassed more than 5 million streams on Spotify.
When the partnership between Blackground Records and EMPIRE was announced last year, fans were thrilled to finally have Aaliyah’s music available on digital streaming platforms. However, the good news didn’t come without its fair share of controversy.
Hankerson explained in an interview that Aaliyah’s estate was not involved in the making of this posthumous album and he has not been in touch with them. “We hope they’re happy. […] I don’t really know who runs that entity, but I’m not hostile at all. Anything that’s connected to Aaliyah in a positive way, we are open to be involved with and do whatever we can do,” stated Aaliyah’s uncle and former manager.
Barry Hankerson confirms Aaliyah’s new “album” will be dropping this month. pic.twitter.com/n7AQpfvESr
— AALIYAH LEGION (@AaliyahLegion) January 4, 2022
When Blackground Records 2.0 began to appear on social media in August 2021 with the teaser hashtag, #AaliyahIsComing, many assumed it was a joint effort between the estate and label. However, on Aug. 4, 2021, the estate released a statement calling out the executives behind the new partnership.
“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,” read the statement.
“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,” the statement continued.
Unstoppable will reportedly have a “pure hip-hop/R&B” feel and has features from Drake, Snoop Dogg, Future, Chris Brown, and more, which many fans like Court Kim are criticizing for “aligning said artist [Aaliyah] with misogynistic, abusive men.” There is currently no concrete date, but all eyes are on the week of Jan. 16—what would have been Aaliyah’s 43rd birthday.
Listen to “Poison” below.