2 Lawsuits Pending Over Late R&B Singer's Music

Aaliyah has been gone for nearly 12 years, but she left behind timeless music & a glimpse of her promising success in movies like; Romeo Must Die & Queen of The Damned. She not only had the title of being an accomplished Singer under her belt, but she also was cited for her original and effortless dance moves and being one of the first female R&B singers to land a modeling / endorsement deal with Tommy Hilfiger as a model. She was engaged to former Roc-A-Fella co-CEO Damon Dash, with plans to be married in the Spring of 2002. She had two of the most rightfully refreshing and eccentric producers behind her and in addition, a very strong bond with her family and close friends. 

Aaliyah had rose to star status in 1994, at the young age of 15 and between the years of '98 & 2001 was THE "IT" girl. But in all of her praise, the beauty has been denied her rights to peace. Since her passing on August 25, 2001 there have not only been the continuous ( and freshly lit) rumors & discrediting of who she was as an artist and how good she genuinely was vocally, but the series of lawsuits; either already put to motion or currently pending over her music.

The first newly claimed lawsuit comes from Reservoir Media Management, who claims that another music company; Craze Productions have been illegally selling the singer's music from her double-platinum album 'One In A Million' and her self-titled 'Aaliyah' album. Reservoir obtained the music rights to the songs in question in 2012 and had never given Craze Productions the rights to reproduce and redistribute the music.  

Reservoir Media wants a judge to block Craze Productions from peddling any more of Aaliyah's music and is requesting an undisclosed amount of money in the case.


Last month producer Jeffrey Walker II (who also goes by the pseudonym J-Dub) sued Blackground Records, Barry Hankerson and Jomo Hankerson and Black Fountain Music in Georgia, claiming that he is owned hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties for working on Aaliyah's music in 2000 and 2001. He claims to have never collected his royalties, because the Hankersons forged his signature and cashed the checks that were meant for him and deposited them in Blackground Records' account.  

 Barry Hankerson is Aaliyah's uncle and signed the singer to his label in 1993. She had been signed to the label for her entire career and it is the same label who releases posthumous (unreleased) music from her today. Jomo Hankerson is Barry's son and is not signed as an artist to Blackground but oversees certain aspects of the label with his father, Barry. 

Both lawsuits are still pending...We just hope that the legal suits cease, out of respect for this woman. Rest peacefully, Aaliyah. God bless your beautiful soul.

Missy Elliott: The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

Missy Elliott will forever be considered one of the greatest entertainers in Hip-Hop; her refreshing energy, style and flows are what helped to add that extra 'oomph' into the music world and videos like The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) from her classic 1997 debut album of the same name, helped to establish the fact. What I love most about Missy is that she never tried to compete with anyone, never followed a fad - Everything she was doing ( and still thankfully still doing today) is 100% all HER. So dust off ya Timberlands (no pun intended), grab ya supa fly red shades and pull out that jeep and take a ride back into the 90's with me.

Artist Watch: Angel Haze

I will admit, I was a little skeptical when I had seen Angel Haze on the 2012 BET Cypher alongside; Driicky Graham, Joey Badass, ASAP Rocky & Childish Gambino. But I found myself replaying her verse a few times and then eventually on Youtube looking up more of her music. The first song I had stumbled upon that initially caught my attention was Hot Like Fire an urban, up-tempo track that sampled vocals from the late great R&B singer Aaliyah (whom style wise Angel seems to take after). She smoothly glided through the beat and just like Aaliyah in the original track, made it her own. I found in Angel something that is rare in the world of Hip-Hop these days, especially amongst the new female spitters making a come up and that is true ownership. Where I here a lot of other lyricists struggle to even make their words match the rhythm pattern, Angel flows to the instrumentals like it's nothing and then casually ends the recording. There are no gimmicks; bright colored costumes, wigs, publicity quotes or stunts to boost any of her music sales, no lengthy track record of beefs with her peers( Aside from fellow rapstress Azealia Banks).  It's just Angel, the beat and the mic. And that is more than alright. 

With her still being fresh on the scene, I'm anxious to see where her career is headed. Her lyrical skill comes off as being strong and sure and I see a dedication and work ethic in her that had long a go tapered off in the Hip-Hop community, with an exception to a few other new faces. Wherever this career may take her, I'm sure that it will only bring about progress and success. She has a lot of potential and I believe with the right kind of management and promotion, all of that potential won't go to waste.




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More Artist Watch elections coming soon!!!