Why Aaliyah’s Family Is Still Fighting in Court — 5 Years After Her Music Catalog Returned
Billboard traces the various legal disputes that have pitted the late star's family members against one another since her music was re-released in 2021.
Five years after Aaliyah's music catalog was returned to the market, her family remains embroiled in a court battle over the ownership of the royalties. In May 2021, Aaliyah's family members signed a deal that divided the royalties once Blackground Records began making money from the catalog once again. However, this contract soon became the subject of legal disputes.
The disagreement is between Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah's uncle and the owner of Blackground Records, and Aaliyah's cousin, Jomo Hankerson, his own son. The contract awarded Jomo a 20% stake in Blackground, which includes most of Aaliyah's music, including her albums One in a Million and Aaliyah. Despite the successful rollout of the music, releasing it on streaming services and re-issuing it in physical formats, Jomo sued Barry alleging that his father did not deliver his promised 20% of the profits.
Barry, on the other hand, accused Jomo of coercing him into signing over the 20% share by stealing Aaliyah’s master recordings while he was recovering from a stroke in early 2021.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
