Photo Credit: Marc Baptiste

Aaliyah’s album One in a Million hit streamers on Friday due to a partnership between Blackground Records 2.0 and EMPIRE.

On Friday, Aaliyah’s sophomore album One in a Million became available on streaming platforms. Originally released in 1996, the riveting release injected a flavor in the R&B genre that it’d been lacking at the time. “If Your Girl Only Knew,” a standout on the album rose to the No.1 slot on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for two weeks in 1996. 

Nearly 20 years after her passing, One in a Million hitting streamers is introducing Aaliyah to a generation that might not be familiar with her work. Blackground Records 2.0 owned by the late singer’s uncle, Barry Hankerson, and manager made the release possible through a partnership with EMPIRE. All of her recordings are owned by Hankerson’s label, this has been a dicey issue that’s been met with public commentary from Aaliyah’s estate.

One in a Million is the first of a promised rollout which will take place over the course of the next few months. Aaliyah’s self-titled album and the Romeo Must Die soundtrack will both arrive in September, and I Care 4 U + Ultimate Aaliyah is slated to release on October 8. Despite the happiness that many fans are sharing on social media, it’s been made clear that the Estate of Aaliyah Haughton and her family are not aligned with Hankerson’s rollout. A statement previously shared stated for 20 years there’s been a lack of “transparency or full accounting” surrounding the release of her music.

In case you missed it there was also an extensive Billboard feature that dug into the issues that have been causing conflict between both parties for years. Alongside Aaliyah’s music the piece also explicitly stated that catalogs of Timbaland, Jojo, Tank, and Toni Braxton will also be made available at some point. It’s not clear whether or not these artists will be receiving royalties.

Stream One in a Million below.