Drake‘s posthumous album with Aaliyah has been scrapped after producer Noah ’40’ Shebib opted to abandon the project, fearful of the bad publicity surrounding the project.
In 2012, Drake revealed a song titled ‘Enough Said’, featuring a previously unreleased vocal hook from the singer, who died on August 25, 2001 in a plane crash. A full album was in the works but will now not surface in its originally planned form.
Speaking to Vibe, Shebib explained his decision, stating that he was worried about the “negative stigma” involved with the album. “The world reacting to Drake’s involvement so negatively, I just wanted nothing to do with it.”
Shebib claims that Timbaland, who previously said only he should work on Aaliyah’s music, was positive about his work. “[Timbaland] 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.”
Ultimately, however, it was the opinions of those closes to the late singer which forced the decision. “[Aaliyah’s] mother saying ‘I don’t want this out’ was enough for me. I walked away very quickly.”
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in New York in 1979 and raised in Detroit. She released her debut album, the R Kelly-produced ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number’, in 1994. It was followed in 1996 by ‘One In A Million’ and her self-titled third album, which was released a month before her death in 2001 and has since sold over 13 million copies.