Update: Drake's rep has no comment on the news that a song from the scrapped Aaliyah album (that Drake co-produced) has been leaked.
This story was published at 12 p.m. on Dec. 6
Four years ago, Drake released a new track called "Enough Said" featuring vocals from none other than the late Aaliyah. The song was meant to be a preview for an entire posthumous album to come — 16 songs constructed around previously unheard recordings by Aaliyah, who died in a 2001 plane crash at age 22. But Aaliyah's family never gave Drake and producer Noah "40" Shebib their blessing — while Aaliyah's former producer Timbaland said neither he nor the young star's frequent collaborator Missy Elliott were involved. The project was delayed and then scrapped entirely in 2014, when producer Shebib backed out because of all the negative feedback from the Haughtons and industry members.
Now, two years after the cancellation and nearly 16 years after Aaliyah's death, we have another taste of the strange album that never was.
A YouTube account under the name DrakeVevo — unaffiliated with the official Drake channel — has posted a track titled "Talk Is Cheap," as NME reports. Out of respect for the family, Refinery29 has decided not to post the song here. It's decidedly eerie to listen to the voice of somebody who died so long ago — and it even feels a little wrong, knowing that the Haughton family never endorsed the album.
So the question is: How did this song get leaked? It appears Drake had no involvement — though it seems the leaked track would likely have come from somebody who was at some point connected to the project, perhaps indirectly. We have contacted Drake's rep for comment and will update this story should we receive new information. We are also reaching out to members of Aaliyah's family. Stay tuned.