Nearly 25 years after its release, fans of Aaliyah are finally able to listen to her 1996 sophomore album One In A Million on digital platforms. The move came after years filled with her biggest supporters begging for her music to be made available on streaming services, as only her debut Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number could be heard.
One In A Million was re-uploaded following a deal between Blackground Records and EMPIRE Records, with the former being the label the project was released on. After the early success of One In A Million on streaming charts, Blackground’s founder Barry Hankerson released a statement that thanked fans for their support.
“As the owner of Aaliyah’s catalog and label Blackground Records, I want to thank you all for allowing One In A Million, to chart #3 in the world,” he wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. “I cannot take the credit for managing Aaliyah as that was never a title I held. That title belonged to Diane Haughton and her husband who managed Aaliyah from the start of her career until her passing. I want to thank Diane, Aaliyah’s manager, for allowing and choosing Blackground Records to become her label.”
Hankerson went on to thanks Jomo Hankerson for their contributions to the Blackground company during its music industry heights before he shifted his attention to the fans.
“Thank you to all of her many fans for keeping her music alive,” he added. “I’m sorry it took so long, but when you lose a family member so unexpectedly, it takes time to deal with that type of grief. I decided to release Aaliyah’s music in order to keep her legacy alive.”
You can view his message in the post above. Get it here.
One In A Million is out now via Blackground 2.0/EMPIRE. Get it here.
