It seems that every day, there is a different story about the highly anticipated posthumous Aaliyah album from her confused former label and Drake. Well, today we have more news from a rep for Missy Elliot confirming that she and producer Timbaland will NOT be a part of the project.
When Jomo and Barry Hankerson of Blackground Records (Aaliyah’s former label, Uncle and cousin) released a statement confirming Missy Elliot and Timbaland would “definitely be involved” they forgot one minor detail….to mention it to Missy and Timbaland!
Sad to say, this news didn’t come as a surprise, just last week Aaliyah’s former label released a statement that Drake would NOT be executive producer of a posthumous Aaliyah album then hours later they retracted the same statement.
In a press release, longtime manager for Missy, Mona Scott-Young, states, “Although Missy and Timbaland always strive to keep the memory of their close friend alive, we have not been contacted about the project nor are there any plans at this time to participate.” She continues, “We’ve seen the reports surfacing that they have been confirmed to participate but that is not the case. Both Missy and Timbaland are very sensitive to the loss still being felt by the family so we wanted to clear up any misinformation being circulated.”
This mess all started a week ago when crazed Aaliyah stan, Drake released a new single featuring unreleased Aaliyah vocals on the song, Enough Said. Shortly after Drake and the label released statements on who will be involved with the album, Aaliyah’s brother also announced that they weren’t informed nor were they supportive of the music Drake is releasing.
I take Missy and Timbo pulling out of the project as a red flag, they have always had Aaliyah and her family’s best interest at heart. Missy Elliot added in the statement, “Tim and I carry Aaliyah with us everyday, like so many of the people who love her. She will always live in our hearts. We have nothing but love and respect for her memory and for her loved ones left behind still grieving her loss. They are always in our prayers.”
The label and Drake seem to be in it for the wrong reasons…money and promotion. Here we have Drake bringing up his beef with other artists using Aaliyah’s name in vein to promote it and then the former record label making statements to refute them only hours later most likely as a result of being paid off.
The release of new Aaliyah music should be to feed her fans and keep her legacy alive not taint it.
Given Missy’s statement, why do you think Aaliyah’s former label (Hankersons) said the two artists would appear on Aaliyah’s posthumous album?
Let us know in the comments below!
