Aaliyah’s Death At Center Of Lawsuit Between Uncle And Cousin
The uncle and cousin of late R&B icon Aaliyah are in court making explosive claims over money owed and even who's responsible for her death.
Black News 
25 years ago today (August 31), 22-year-old singer and actress Aaliyah was officially laid to rest in New York City after the tragic plane accident that took her life and eight others less than a week prior on August 25, 2001.
In the two-and-a-half decades since, her death is still a subject of pain and unanswered questions that has even resulted in legal litigation amongst her own family. Barry and Jomo Hankerson, the uncle and cousin of Aaliyah, respectively, are currently in the midst of a court battle that has one side fighting for money owed and the other making a shocking claim that centers on responsibility for the fatal crash itself.
Sadly, it appears we still need a resolution.
10 Aaliyah Songs That Prove She’s An R&B Legend
According to TMZ, the father/son duo who together ran Aaliyah’s record label, Blackground Records, haven’t been on good terms since the August 2001 plane crash. In legal documents obtained by the outlet, Barry makes the shocking claim that Jomo was negligent in handling the travel plans that forced the rising triple threat to instead take a private jet that plummeted only minutes after takeoff. Jomo on the other hand is fighting back by stating that his dad owes him a percentage of profits from the label which he says was used for money laundering.
More details below, via TMZ:
“Barry says the fatal crash ‘may have been avoided had [Jomo] followed through on his compensated task of travel coordination.’
Aaliyah’s uncle said his relationship with his son was never the same after Aaliyah’s death.
Blame game aside, the rest of the family war is pretty interesting too.
Jomo claims his dad breached a settlement over music rights … specifically, recording masters and music publishing copyrights for Aaliyah, Toni Braxton, DMX, and Timbaland.
Jomo says he is owed 12% of the money Barry made from the music assets per a settlement deal … but claims his dad used the record label to hide money and ‘manufacture expenses that have nothing to do with the music assets, all for the purpose of pressuring [him] into accepting less than what he is owed.’ Jomo is seeking over $1.2 million in damages.”
Both parties are claiming no wrongdoing, although Barry went on to claim that Jomo threatened to go public with unreleased Aaliyah music if he wasn’t financially compensated. This may be the reason why Blackground Records has been awfully silent in commemorating the 25th anniversary since losing Aaliyah, in addition to shelving her highly-anticipated posthumous album, Unstoppable.
Either way, it’s a sad situation to witness as the tragedy of Baby Girl still lingers on 25 years later.
