Singer Aaliyah's catalogue available to stream 20 years after her death

All three solo albums and two compilations will hit streaming services by October

Aaliyah's music catalogue will be online on major streaming services by October 2021. Reuters

Aaliyah's 1994 debut album may be called Age Ain't Nothing But A Number, but the late R'n'B singer’s record label is commemorating the 20th anniversary of her death by allowing her catalogue to finally hit streaming services.

Aaliyah, full name Aaliyah Haughton, was one of nine killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas on August 25, 2001.

At present, only Age Ain't Nothing But A Number can be found online.

But that will soon change when, from August to October, her two follow up albums and a pair of compilations will be ready for streaming.

The move will not only be welcomed by fans with worn-out physical copies of Aaliyah's albums, but should hopefully inspire a new generation of listeners curious about an artist who inspired the likes of Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Ariana Grande.

What’s coming and when?

The campaign begins on Friday, August 20 with the release of One in a Million.

The singer’s second album was released in 1996, and saw her get closer to perfecting her silky brand of pop and R'n'B with adventurous beats, predominantly provided by producer Timbaland.

In addition to the title track, the album scored hits with singles If Your Girl Only Knew and Got to Give It Up.

Her self-titled and last solo album was released in 2001, and is set to land online on Friday, September 10. Aaliyah is a precursor to more material from the singer's catalogue to be released this year.

Titles include the soundtrack to 2000 action film Romeo Must Die – which she starred in – on Friday, September 3 and the compilation albums Ultimate Aaliyah and I Care 4 U on Friday, October 8.

Why now?

The move comes on the back of her record label Blackground Records, owned by Aaliyah's uncle and former manager Barry Hankerson, relaunching as Blackground Records 2.0 as part of a distribution deal with US company Empire, founded by Palestinian-American Ghazi Shami.

A string of non-Aaliyah releases will also debut digitally as part of the new agreement, including 2005 album Libra by Tony Braxton, Timbaland’s 1998 solo album Tim’s Bio: Life from da Bassment and three albums by R'n'B crooner Tank, including his 2001 acclaimed debut Force of Nature.

Tank welcomed the news on Instagram last week with a post, captioned: “I prayed for this day.”

Updated: August 08, 2021, 4:41 AM