Twenty years after Aaliyah's death, her first albums soon to be released amid family feuds

32 million albums sold worldwide, two certified double platinum disc albums in the United States, Aaliyah has left an indelible mark on the music scene but remains absent from streaming platforms. The artist - who had signed to a record company at the age of twelve - tragically died in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of 22, on August 25, 2001. Since his disappearance, a battle at loggerheads has been played out between his uncle and former manager Barry Hankerson and his successors, his mother Diane and his brother, Rashad. This long family feud was brought back into the limelight when his uncle and director of the Blackground label announced the release of the artist's entire catalog on streaming platforms, starting August 20 and two unreleased posthumous albums. .

Read also: Twenty years after her death, the shadow of Aaliyah hangs over the trial of R. Kelly

To date, only Aaliyah's first album:

r is available on platforms like Spotify, unlike

(1996) and

(2001), her last two certified double disc albums. platinum.

For two decades, attempts to reissue these records have been unsuccessful, for obscure reasons.

Between Barry Hankerson - who through his label - owns the rights to his albums and the rest of his family, the tensions are palpable.

This impromptu release, twenty years after the singer's death, has only rekindled tensions.

Representatives of Aaliyah's estate denounced "

", "

" and pledged to "

”. One of the lawyers who defends the singer's family has questioned Blackground which would have blocked the release of these albums. “

Age's

Ain't Nothing But a Number

”he said.

For his part, Barry Hankerson in a long interview for

blamed Aaliyah's mother.

“

“

””, he explained.

For the time being, the rights holders of the singer have not indicated whether they intended to block the release of the singer's albums.

Almost twenty years after her death, Aaliyah's shadow continues to loom.

And the outcome of this long family conflict remains deeply uncertain.