Drake is putting together a new Aaliyah album, amid questions over whether he can even do that

By Marah Eakin  |  August 9, 2012 | 7:15pm
Aux Features Music

Earlier this week, Drake announced that he was spearheading a posthumous release by Aaliyah—an announcement that sparked a storm of controversy over whether he has the right to do that. It all started last weekend with the release of “Enough Said,” a “duet” between Drake and Aaliyah (who died in 2001, when Drake was 15) that's built around one of Aaliyah’s previously unreleased tracks and, because Drake is a super classy dude, also includes a verse where he raps about his watch and disses Chris Brown. The song—followed by Drake saying it would be included in a new, posthumous Aaliyah release he's assembling for later this year—prompted outcry not only from fans but also Aaliyah's closest collaborator Timbaland, who insisted that he and Missy Elliott should both be involved in any new Aaliyah project.

Those misgivings were soon echoed by Aaliyah’s brother, Rashad Haughton, who released a statement on Aaliyah's official Facebook page saying—despite what Drake is telling the public—any forthcoming album was neither official nor supported by the rest of her family. But although Drake recently swore up and down to Much Music that this was false, that everyone in Aaliyah's life is behind him ("The people around her, everybody from her family to her old management and label, were like, 'If there's anyone out that can do it right now, it's [you]"), it may not even matter if the Haughtons are on board, because he's already got Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Aaliyah's cousin and uncle, respectively, are the owners of Blackground Records, the eventual album's intended label, and they're the ones who apparently own the rights to all her unreleased material.

Confusing an already-confusing situation even further, the Hankersons now say that both Timbaland and Missy Elliott will both "definitely" be involved in the album, with producer Noah "40" Shebib working with Drake on reshaping various unreleased songs and song fragments, hoping to "introduce her to younger listeners by updating her sound." And whether Drake actually gets to release it or not, hey, at least no one can take away his Aaliyah tattoo.

 
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