Aaliyah will soon be able to help “rock your boat” digitally.
It has been confirmed by the late musician’s uncle and manager, Barry Hankerson, that her music will finally be available on streaming platforms, 18 years after her death. Starting her career at the tender age of 10 on Star Search, Aaliyah signed her first recording contract at just 12-years-old. Three years later, her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number, was released and solidified the Brooklyn native as an artist to be reckoned with when it sold 3 million copies in the United States alone and was certified as double platinum. Sadly, the “More Than A Woman” singer passed away in a plane crash in 2001.
With technology accelerating at unprecedented levels, music fans no longer enjoy their favorite artists on record or even CD players, opting instead for streaming platforms. 248 million people subscribe to Spotify’s service, which hosts over 50 million songs, while Apple Music possesses its own 60 million.
Until now, only Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number was available to stream, but not Aaliyah’s follow-up albums, One In A Million or Aaliyah, which came out in 1996 and 2001, respectively. The reason behind the absence was Hankerson himself, Complex reported. The Blackground Records producer owns the rights to Aaliyah’s entire catalog, with the exception of her acclaimed debut, which R. Kelly produced.
Thankfully, Hankerson has caught up with the digital times. “We listened, this is not a drill in honor of the great legacy of #Aaliyah,” he wrote on Twitter, tagging top streaming platforms such as Spotify, TIDAL, Apple Music, and Amazon Prime.
Aaliyah’s uncle Barry Hankerson teases on Twitter that her full discography could be coming to major streaming services on the late singer’s birthday, January 16th, 2020.
At the moment, only Aaliyah’s debut album is available for streaming. pic.twitter.com/HRHG3l1E7S
— The Pop Hub (@ThePopHub) November 29, 2019
Fans won’t have to wait long for Aaliyah’s digital debut — her music will be available on January 16th, 2020, which would have been her 41st birthday.
