On March 29, Twitter found itself with #FreeAaliyahMusic trending. It is currently at number 10 on the U.S. trend chart. The hashtag was born when fans of late singer-actress Aaliyah tweeted, expressing disappointment that her full discography is still not available for streaming.
#FreeAaliyahMusic has, thus far, scored almost 30k tweets in less than 12 hours.
American musician Aaliyah in Germany on May 2000.
On November 30, 2019, Aaliyah's uncle Barry Hankerson posted a hint on Twitter that her discography would be available on major streaming platforms. He tagged Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, and Prime Music, and indicated the date "1/16/2020". It coincided with the birthday of the departed singer. Hankerson used to be the head of the now-defunct Blackground Records, which produced several of her albums.
Until this day, that promise has yet to see the light. Fans are not taking it lightly. Aaliyah's followers took to Twitter, declaring that her legacy should live on to the future generations. They believe that her iconic sound should be shared and enjoyed by the public. Thus, the tweet #FreeAaliyahMusic was born. Barry Hankerson's Twitter account, coincidentally, is now deactivated.
Aaliyah's debut album released in 1994, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" is the only one available on streaming. It was produced by successful singer and songwriter R. Kelly and earned a platinum record and sold a million copies. Hit tracks from the album were "Back and Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)". Her debut single "Back and Forth" peaked at number five on Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1996. "At Your Best (You Are Love)", meanwhile, reached spot number six in October 1996.
As published by Complex, Aaliyah's uncle, Hankerson, is the reason for the online absence of her other beloved songs. Background Records produced her two succeeding albums, "One in a Million" and her final studio album, "Aaliyah". He still refuses to release the rights, as reported. Tracks from these albums are available only on YouTube.
Barry Hankerson's tweet on Nov. 30, 2019
Aaliyah's fame and sudden demise
Aaliyah's music career started very early: she was 12 years old when she signed a recording contract with Jive Records. She earlier failed to be successful in the competition Star Search when she was 11.
At 15 years old, Aaliyah landed her big break in R&B through her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number". The second album, "One in Million", which sold two million copies, was released in 1996 when she was 17 years old.
In 1997, she went to sing the theme song of the animation movie, "Anastasia", which was nominated in the Academy Awards. She also recorded "Are You That Somebody?", the accompanying track to Eddie Murphy's movie "Dolittle" in 1998. Aaliyah was later nominated for the first time in the Grammys with the hit song.
Aaliyah also conquered the movie industry in 2000. The singer starred opposite martial arts actor Jet Li in the unexpected action hit movie "Romeo Must Die." The "Try Again" soundtrack earned her second Grammy nomination. She won the MTV Music Video Awards for Best Female Video and Best Video From a Film. The pop hit reached the number one spot in June 2000 at the Billboard charts.
In July 2001, her self-titled album "Aaliyah" was launched, and it peaked at number two on the Billboard album chart.
Aaliyah's soaring success, though, was tragically cut short on August 25, 2001. She figured in a fatal plane crash after taking off from the Bahamas airport. Eight of her team and the pilot were among the victims. They had just wrapped up a music video for the single "Rock the Boat." She was 22 years old.
