Aaliyah fans have been wondering for a while now why her music was so hard to find online. Complex tackled that subject in December with their piece “The Inexplicable Online Absence of Best Music,” concluding that all roads lead back to her uncle, music exec and Background Records CEO Barry Hankerson, who owns her music catalog and kept her music under wraps, away from streaming services and digital outlets.
However, last night (Jan. 11th) her greatest hits album Ultimate Aaliyah appeared on Apple Music, allowing fans to purchase her collection of hits they fell in love with, including “One In a Million” and “Are You That Somebody.”
Prior to this, her only music available on streaming platforms was Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, which just so happens to be out of Hankerson’s ownership. While this is great news for her fans and her legacy, her last two albums One In a Million and Aaliyah are still not available for streaming or purchase.
However, at the time of this writing, the album has been removed. It’s assumed that a company called Craze, who’s notorious for breaking legalities concerning copyrights, posted the album for a quick monetary come up.
They need to quit playing with our emotions…
