Aaliyah Album Coming This Year, Her Cousin Says

Facebook.com/pages/Aaliyah-Haughton/26702510514Aaliyah's cousin Jomo Hankerson tells Billboard that a posthumous album from the singer is set for release later this year, but he denies reports that Drake has been hired to executive produce the project.

That job will be left to Jomo and his father, Barry Hankerson, whose Blackground Records released Aaliyah's latest single, "Enough Said," featuring Drake, and will release the new collection.  Jomo clarifies to Billboard that Drake will be featured on "more of the records" and that 40 is "heavily involved" in taking a fresh look at Aaliyah's old material.

The project will make use of 16 unreleased Aaliyah songs and "fragments" from her collection, according to Billboard, and Jomo says other "contemporary artists" will be involved in creating updated material.  Jomo explains that he brought Drake and 40 onto the project in part because of their work on Alicia Keys' single "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)."

"We didn't want to make it a nostalgic project; we already did that with the I Care 4 U album," Jomo tells Billboard.  He and his father hope to introduce Aaliyah to new generations of music lovers who aren't very familiar with her earlier work.  "The idea was to release new music for her diehard fans, and also reintroduce her music to a new generation that doesn't really understand how much influence she has in the music that they're listening to today," he says.

The year 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of Aaliyah's passing, and fans' attention to the day confirmed to Jomo that there's a demand for her music, as well as for previously unreleased interviews and behind-the-scenes material. 

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