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Barry Hankerson (born August 3, 1947) is an American record producer, music label owner and manager. Hankerson is the founder of
Blackground Records Blackground Records 2.0 (legal name Blackground Records, LLC, formerly known as Blackground Records) is an American record label founded and owned by Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Initially named Blackground Enterprises, the label switched its name ...
. He is the uncle of singer and actress
Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and ...
.


Career

Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, Hankerson attended
Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for te ...
in Ohio, where he majored in sociology and played on the football team. After unsuccessfully auditioning for the New York Jets, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked as a community organizer in the office of mayor
Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit. Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...
in the early 1970s. Later in the decade, Hankerson moved into the entertainment industry, helping to produce the 1976 film '' Pipe Dreams'', which he also costarred in with his then-wife Gladys Knight. He produced
Ron Milner Ronald Milner (May 29, 1938 – July 9, 2004) was an American playwright. His play ''Checkmates'', starring Paul Winfield and Denzel Washington, ran on Broadway in 1988. Milner also taught creative writing at the University of Southern California ...
's play ''Don't Get God Started'' in 1988. Hankerson formed Blackground in 1993, as a result of unsuccessful efforts to sign his niece, Aaliyah, to big record labels. Using his connection with singer R. Kelly, who he managed at the time, Hankerson obtained a contract with Jive to distribute the release of Aaliyah's debut album ''
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994 by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to recordi ...
''. Initially named Blackground Enterprises, the label switched its name to Blackground Entertainment and later Blackground Records in 2000. It co-operated with a publishing company founded by Hankerson, named Black Fountain Music. Hankerson served as Aaliyah's manager until 1995 when her father, Michael Haughton, took over as manager. Aaliyah remained on his label until her death on August 25, 2001. Additionally, Hankerson managed and produced The Winans, and was a percussionist on their albums ''Let My People Go'' and '' Decisions''. He also managed Toni Braxton. Hankerson has been a strong supporter of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, contributing heavily to both campaigns and producing a movie on him in 2012 titled ''
The Obama Effect ''The Obama Effect'' is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Charles S. Dutton and starring Dutton, Katt Williams and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Cast *Charles S. Dutton as John Thomas * Katt Williams as MLK *Vanessa Bell Calloway as Molly T ...
'' for the newly launched Blackground Pictures. It was directed by Charles S. Dutton and stars him,
Katt Williams Micah "Katt" Williams (born September 2, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Money Mike in ''Friday After Next'', had a stint on ''Wild 'n Out'', portrayed Bobby Shaw in ''My Wife and Kids'', provided the voice of A Pimp N ...
and
Meagan Good Meagan Monique Good is an American actress. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Cousin Skeeter'' (1998–2001). Good received further ...
.


Personal life

Hankerson married Gladys Knight in October 1974; after four years the couple divorced. He has one daughter and two sons; one with Knight, Shanga-Ali Hankerson and Jomo Hankerson, his oldest son, from a previous marriage. Hankerson is the brother of Diane Haughton and uncle to her and Michael Haughton's two children, American R&B singer
Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and ...
and Rashad Haughton.


Controversies


Toni Braxton

In 2007, Braxton filed a $10 million lawsuit against her former manager, Hankerson, alleging "fraud, deception and double dealing," in addition to mismanaging her relationship with Arista Records. According to Braxton's lawsuit, Hankerson placed his personal financial interests ahead of hers by using 'double-talk' to compromise the relationship between Braxton and her former label, with Hankerson allegedly telling Arista that "Braxton no longer wanted to record for Arista," and telling Braxton that "Arista was not interested in working with her anymore". The suit was settled with Braxton being forced to return a $375,000 advance to Hankerson, who would also receive a percentage of the sales of her next album, and Hankerson releasing Braxton from her contract with him. The settlement also temporarily limited the companies with which Braxton could sign. Hankerson claimed that the problems initially arose due to a number of disputes with Braxton and her wish to include her husband in her music.


Kyme Dang

In 2007, Kyme Dang sued the defunct Blackground Records for a $5.8 million settlement, alleging breach of written guaranty. According to Dang's lawsuit, Hankerson went so far as to buy and rename the salon she worked at as a hair stylist, took to the internet to accuse her of having
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...
and then blew up her car in front of the Oceanside home she shared with her family. Dang claimed that Hankerson's private investigator was outside watching when the car exploded and "had the incident reported to the local police in such a manner as to deflect attention away from Hankerson as having involvement in the incident." On January 1, 2012, Blackground Records agreed to act as guaranty for the settlement agreement, but failed to pay Hankerson's debt after he defaulted on the agreement.


JoJo

On July 30, 2013, it was reported that
JoJo Jojo, JoJo or Jo Jo is a given name, surname, nickname or stage name used by several people and fictional characters, including: People with the given name, nickname or stage name Musicians *JoJo (singer) (born 1990), American R&B singer, songwri ...
had filed a lawsuit against Blackground Records for "irreparable damages to her professional career". Minors cannot sign contracts that last more than seven years under New York State law and thus she claims that as her contract was signed in 2004, her deal should have expired in 2011. In December 2013, both of JoJo's and Blackground's attorneys agreed to drop the case as both parties came to an agreement outside court. JoJo had claimed her manager and label wouldn't release her from contract, but were also refusing to allow her to release any music.


Aaliyah

In August 2021, it was reported that Blackground had rebranded as Blackground Records 2.0 and that former artists' discographies would be re-released on physical, digital, and streaming services in a deal between the record label and
Empire Distribution EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in v ...
. However, Aaliyah's estate, run by her mother and brother Rashad, issued a statement preempting Blackground 2.0's announcement, denouncing an "unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah's music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate". Aaliyah's '' One In A Million'' was reissued on August 20, 2021. Her self titled album was released a few weeks later. Albums from Tank,
Timbaland & Magoo Timbaland & Magoo were a rap duo consisting of producer/rapper Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and rapper Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff, formed in 1989. Hailing from Norfolk, Virginia, the duo first met when they were teenagers. They later paired up as a ...
,
JoJo Jojo, JoJo or Jo Jo is a given name, surname, nickname or stage name used by several people and fictional characters, including: People with the given name, nickname or stage name Musicians *JoJo (singer) (born 1990), American R&B singer, songwri ...
, Toni Braxton and Ashley Parker Angel and soundtracks to
Romeo Must Die ''Romeo Must Die'' is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his feature film directorial debut, and featuring fight choreography by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li and Aaliyah in her feature film debut, It follows a Ch ...
and
Exit Wounds ''Exit Wounds'' is a 2001 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, and starring Steven Seagal and DMX. The film is based on the book of the same name by John Westermann. The book takes place on Long Island, while the film is set in D ...
were also re-released.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankerson, Barry 1947 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people African-American businesspeople African-American record producers American music industry executives Central State Marauders football players People from Harlem Politicians from Detroit Record producers from Los Angeles