A family lawsuit over Aaliyah's music involving her uncle Barry Hankerson's record label, blames her cousin for her death for failing to coordinate her trip to the Bahamas

Aaliyah/public domain

Aaliyah’s family members, who were part of her career, are settling a lawsuit over unpaid earnings. The late singer’s cousin, Jomo Hankerson, is reportedly suing his father, Barry Hankerson, who owned Blackground Records, the label Aaliyah was on at the time of her death.

Jomo, who was a part of Aaliyah’s team, reportedly claims that his father owes him 12 percent of musical earnings. Multiple sources say Jomo is asking for $1.2 million in damages. According to Vice, He’s accused his father of breaching a settlement over music rights. Specifically, he cites Aaliyah’s recording masters and music publishing copyrights. Other artists are reportedly connected to this lawsuit as well.  

Barry Hankerson and Jomo Hankerson

Along with other claims in the lawsuit, Barry alleged that his nephew was negligent in his duties for Aaliyah’s travel for her music video trip to the Bahamas, where she died in a plane crash on her return flight. According to The Grio, TMZ’s Aug. 31 report stated that Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah’s uncle and longtime manager, claims his son Jomo Hankerson failed to properly handle travel arrangements for the singer’s 2001 music-video shoot in the Bahamas. In the suit, Barry also accused Jomo of threatening to release Aaliyah’s unreleased recordings if he didn’t comply with his financial demands.

There has been a tremendous rift in the Hankerson family since Aaliyah’s passing. Turmoil has surrounded her catalog since her 2001 death. Her music was withheld from streaming platforms until 2021.

On an episode with Dr. Oz in 2021, Barry tearfully explained that his relationship with his sister, Aaliyah’s mother, Diane Haughton, had drastically changed since the singer’s death. He shared that they were once very close, but he didn’t think they could repair the relationship, as her death had brought on family turmoil.

The owner of Blackground Records also made claims against his sister while speaking with Dr. Oz, stating that he felt she was more knowledgeable about the sex scandal between Aaliyah and R. Kelly during the beginning of her career.

Aaliyah and her parents (Diane and Michael)

R. Kelly, whom Barry managed, produced Aaliyah’s first album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number. News eventually broke that R. Kelly had illegally married Aaliyah, who was still in high school, and was having a sexual relationship with her. It was reported that Kelly helped the young songstress obtain an illegal ID to finalize the marriage. Aaliyah’s parents quickly annulled the marriage, and her career with R. Kelly ended. Yet she still rose in her music career despite the scandal.

The late singer’s estate, managed by her mother, Diane, and older brother, Rashad, has also clashed with Hankerson for years after her death over how her music was handled.

All of the singer's albums went 2x Platinum. Her posthumous release, I Care 4 U, was Platinum. The fallen star starred in Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned before her death. She was cast as Zee and began filming The Matrix Reloaded before her death. She was also set to star in The Matrix Revolutions.

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