Aaliyah Music Online? 2005 Compilation Turns Up On Apple Music After Blackground Blocking [Updated]

The prolonged wait to have music by the late songstress Aaliyah accessible online temporarily ended today.

A well-regarded, 2005 compilation of songs from the “Rock The Boat” singer, Ultimate Aaliyah, was available for purchase on Apple Music and iTunes for a short time on Thursday, following its removal from the latter streaming service in December 2013, Love B. Scott explains. The surprising pop-up, which went for $17.99, came about a month after publication Complex published a somewhat scathing report regarding the absence of most of Aaliyah’s music on the web (through legal means), minus her 1994 debut, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.

Ultimate Aaliyah available on Apple Music! ?? #Aaliyah pic.twitter.com/MAmNcwrZIe

— Curtix (@TheCurtixJr) January 12, 2017

As the Complex piece notes, the majority of what was recorded by Aaliyah — born Aaliyah Dana Haughton in 1981 — sits in the hands of Barry Hankerson, the performer’s uncle and owner of her follow-up record label, Blackground Records. Haughton’s debut was made possible by the now-defunct Jive Records under the tutelage of another singer, R. Kelly, who reportedly married a 15-year old Aaliyah in 1995 (the union was eventually annulled).

As most of the performer’s biggest numbers — “One In A Million,” “Are You That Somebody?,” et al. — appear on albums that are the property of Blackground, Hankerson has the right to legally withhold her fans from digitally possessing what they see as being the best of the best of Aaliyah music, which in turn, has even made finding physical copies of her tunes at decent prices hard to come by: for example, Amazon currently boasts an unopened disc of the singer’s final offering, 2001’s Aaliyah, for $29.95 plus tax.

At some point in 2013, another company who had no known business with Aaliyah, Hankerson, or any producers who had worked with the pair, Craze Productions, took it upon themselves to break copyright law by uploading Ultimate Aaliyah to iTunes. Following several months of the musical collection, which features 16 tracks from the four albums Aaliyah recorded while she was alive, plus a 9-song bonus set of b-sides and remixes, being available for purchase, Hankerson threatened Craze with litigation through Reservoir Music Management, which overlooks Blackground.

After a quick kerfuffle, the matter was settled and Aaliyah’s music was removed from the service, seemingly by Craze.

In regards to the Ultimate Aaliyah online reappearance, a screen cap taken by Love B. Scott from the new upload of the compilation noted Craze as being the purveyors of Aaliyah’s music to online audiences.

For those who may be interested, here is the full track listing to Ultimate Aaliyah, as relayed by the now-removed iTunes purchase page, along with where each of the main 16 songs first appeared on a full Aaliyah recording, as well as the record label that rightfully owns that song:

1. “One In A Million” (One In A Million – Blackground)
2. “If Your Girl Only Knew” (One In A Million – Blackground)
3. “Hot Like Fire” (One In A Million – Blackground)
4. “The One I Gave My Heart To” (One In A Million – Blackground)
5. “Got To Give It Up [Remix]” (I Care 4 U, original version on One In A Million – Blackground)
6. “4 Page Letter” (One In A Million – Blackground)
7. “We Need A Resolution” [feat. Timbaland] (Aaliyah – Blackground)
8. “Rock The Boat” (Aaliyah – Blackground)
9. “More Than A Woman” (Aaliyah – Blackground)
10. “I Care 4 U” (Aaliyah – Blackground)
11. “Try Again” [feat. Timbaland] (Romeo Must Die sdtk. – Blackground)
12. “Back & Forth” (Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number – Jive)
13. “Are You That Somebody?” (Dr. Doolittle (2000) sdtk. – Atlantic Records)
14. “Don’t Know What To Tell Ya” (I Care 4 U – Blackground)
15. “Miss You” (I Care 4 U – Blackground)
16. “At Your Best” (Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number – Jive)

Bonus Disc:

1. “Are You Feelin’ Me?”
2. “Messed Up”
3. “Come Back In One Piece” (feat. DMX)
4. “I Don’t Wanna”
5. “Man Undercover” (feat. Timbaland)
6. “John Blaze” (feat. Missy Elliott)
7. “I Am Music” (feat. Timbaland and Static of Static Major)
8. “More Than A Woman” (Bump N Flex Club Mix)
9. “Hold On” (Timbaland & Magoo feat. Wyclef Jean)

As additionally noted in the Complex article, Hankerson rarely makes public comments on Aaliyah’s music or legacy, so it’s difficult to gauge his reaction to this newest development.

Update: Billboard noted that as of Thursday afternoon, iTunes has removed the Aaliyah compilation, Ultimate Aaliyah, from their service. This post has been edited to reflect this.

[Featured Image by Jim Cooper/AP Photos]