Battle Between Aaliyah’s Estate and Former Manager Breaks Into the Open
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA long-running battle between the estate of the late R&B singer Aaliyah Haughton and her uncle/ former manager/ label chief Barry Hankerson broke into the open on Wednesday after teasers about forthcoming music were posted online.The singer, who died in a plane crash at the age of 21, is arguably the most popular and prominent artist whose top album is not available on streaming services, due to a conflict between Hankerson and the estate that has gone on for the better part of two decades.“For 20 years we have battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception,” the estate’s statement reads, “now, this unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah’s music without transparency or full accounting to the