In a savvy bit of pre-trial maneuvering, Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson has formally blamed his own son for the 2001 plane crash that killed R&B star Aaliyah, hoping the manslaughter allegation will yield a better split of the late singer’s streaming revenue.
The bitter legal battle between Barry and his son Jomo Hankerson escalated in court on Tuesday, injecting a fresh burst of buzz into an otherwise routine squabble over back-end accounting. Reps for the elder Hankerson filed a motion claiming Jomo was directly responsible for the overloaded Cessna that claimed the 22-year-old singer's life, a strategic deployment of decades-old family trauma designed to force a settlement over allegedly unpaid residuals from Aaliyah's self-titled final album.
Sources close to the litigation confirm the uncle’s legal team had been holding the 2001 aviation disaster in reserve until the dispute over digital streaming mechanicals reached a complete impasse. By packaging the horrifying loss of a beloved cultural icon with a standard breach-of-contract countersuit, Blackground Records aims to minimize its financial exposure ahead of the next fiscal quarter.
Industry insiders note that while introducing a surprise negligent homicide claim during discovery is an unconventional negotiation tactic, it has successfully shifted the focus away from the label's accounting practices.
Accusing your immediate family of orchestrating a beloved pop star's death is a high-risk, high-reward play, but at the end of the day, we are talking about master recording rights in perpetuity.
Jomo Hankerson's legal team is reportedly scrambling to counter the rollout, with tracking suggesting they may accuse the label boss of sinking the RMS Lusitania in order to secure a larger advance on an upcoming vinyl reissue.
If arbitration fails to produce a satisfactory deal, both parties are expected to monetize the horrific family rupture via an exclusive, eight-part Hulu docuseries this fall.