It’s been 25 years since the tragic death of Aaliyah. And while fans continue to honor her memory, the circumstances surrounding the fatal plane crash that took her life remain highly contentious. Most recently, her uncle accused his son–Aaliyah’s cousin–of bearing part of the blame for her passing.
According to TMZ, Jomo Hankerson and Barry Hankerson are back in court, duking it out as Jomo accuses Barry of owing him money from music assets.
Barry is the owner of Blackground Records, as well as the uncle of Aaliyah and father of Jomo. Per court documents, Barry claims Jomo “failed in his responsibility” to take care of her travel plans, referring to the private plane booked for her flight to the Bahamas for a music video. Jomo is accused of screwing up the initial travel plans. Barry said the crash “may have been avoided had [Jomo] followed through on his compensated task of travel coordination."
Aaliyah's Family Lawsuit
Unfortunately, the lawsuit also includes allegations against Barry, too. Jomo said that Barry breached a settlement over masters and publishing copyrights related to music from Timbaland, Aaliyah, DMX, and Toni Braxton. As part of the settlement, Jomo said that he’s owed 12% of Barry’s earnings from music assets. However, he’s now claiming that his dad used his record label to “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,” while hiding money. The lawsuit demands $1.2M in damages.
Firing back, Barry said that he did nothing improper while asserting that the settlement was done under fraud. He simultaneously accused his son of threatening to drop unreleased music from Aaliyah if his demands weren’t met.
