Be it for the good, bad, ugly, or downright shocking, 2021 was full of memorable moments!
Now, as the year draws to a close, That Grape Juice is reflecting on the occasions that rocked – and to some degree maybe even reshaped – the Urban and Pop cultural landscape as we know it.
Next, we look back on how Aaliyah‘s prized catalog – after years of calls from fans – was finally released to digital outlets from the Blackground Records vault.
Despite increased fan demand over the years for late R&B singer Aaliyah’s second and third studio efforts – ‘One in A Million’ and ‘Aaliyah: the Album’ – to be released to Spotify, Apple Music, and other major music streamers, their request wasn’t until nearly 20 years after her death.
In commemoration of the occasion and well as the relaunch of the label those projects were housed under, her uncle/the imprint’s CEO announced in August every piece of her discography – including soundtracks – would be unveiled to digital outlets via an incremental roll out over the months that followed. The move was frowned upon by the R&B diva’s estate.
Her dedicated fans weren’t frowning, that’s for sure. The response to the periodic releases was so great, a couple of the projects (20+ years after their initial releases) bested the sales performances of current hitmakers to impact the Billboard 200’s top 40.
All-in-all, the releases are said to be precursors to the long-awaited drop of a “new” album of previously unreleased Aaliyah tracks revamped with help from Chris Brown, Future, Drake, and more.