Well this def of interest to me. For some month now, I’ve wondered why on earth Drake thought it was okay to create a posthumous Aaliyah album. And considering the feedback, I wasn’t the only who questioned that decision. There was a huge uproar. Well come to find out, it all started with Noah “40” Shebib – Drake’s longtime producer.
Come to find out, it was 40 who was initially approached. In a new interview with Vibe, 40 explained that Aaliyah’s family actually reached out to him to work on the LP, and that’s when Drake got onboard.
“Aaliyah’s label Blackground–the Hankersons, her uncle and cousin — came to me and said if she was around she’d want you to do this [posthumous] project,” 40 explained. “I’ve been obsessed with Aaliyah forever, and I know Drake has his relationship with her. But that opportunity was mine. Drake said, ‘Can I do it with you?’ and I was like, ‘Of course, we’ll do it together.'”
In the spring of 2012, the two released the single “Enough Said,” featuring previously unheard Aaliyah vocals. The track was met with mixed reviews, and artists including Timbaland and DMX would openly criticize Drake for attempting to work on an Aaliyah album without their help, or the blessing of her family.
“The world reacting to Drake’s involvement so negatively, I just wanted nothing to do with it. That was a very sad experience for me,” 40 revealed. “I was naïve to the politics surrounding Aaliyah’s legacy and a bit ignorant to Timbaland’s relationship and everybody else involved and how they’d feel. (Sidebar: Timbaland had this to say about the potential album: “I know they trying to drop some Aaliyah records, but if he do it, it should be with me and Missy. The proper way for him to do that would be for me, him and Missy to be all on the record.”)
“Tim said to me, ‘Don’t stop, make the album.’ I think that was Tim taking the position of, ‘I’m not going to stop you. If you’re not going to do it, that’s your decision.’ But ultimately, I wasn’t comfortable and didn’t like the stigma,” 40 confessed. “We released [“Enough Said”], but I was seven songs deep. [Aaliyah’s] mother saying ‘I don’t want this out’ was enough for me. I walked away very quickly.”
Smart man. Thank goodness he sensed the vibe.
Meanwhile, In December Drake previewed an unreleased track on his Instagram account that seemed to feature Aaliyah’s vocals, but he gave no further information.
I have no idea how 40 thought his involvement was going to go over well. I loved Aaliyah. I also like Drake and 40’s body of work. However, it’s a little strange to me that these two – who never even met her – wanted so badly to create this project. Not to mention I 100% agree with Timbaland’s thought mentioned above. For 40 & Drake, it’s just hot music. I believe for Tim & Missy, it’s about friendship, family, love. Let’s hope Drake walks away too.
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