Barry Hankerson, the man responsible for the likes of his niece, the late Aaliyah, is resurrecting his old record label Blackground Records, renamed Blackground Records 2.0. Autumn Marini, the first woman of Blackground Records 2.0, shot her debut video ahead of the label’s launch on Saturday, shutting down multiple streets in Atlanta. Barry spoke exclusively to The Shade Room about the return of his label–which gave us Timbaland’s “Shock Value II” in 2009 before taking a more than 10-year hiatus–as well as his new artist, who he claims can’t be compared to anybody else.
Barry tells us that he relocated Blackground to Atlanta after meeting so many brilliant musicians who couldn’t find a means to release their songs. This prompted him to resurrect Blackground Records 2.0 and continue doing what they do, which he describes as “It’s a good time to promote young talent,” It’s a terrific time to encourage emerging talent, according to Barry. Autumn Marini, he believes, has the full package and can’t be compared to other artists, past or present, because she’s in a different league.
“She’s beautiful, she writes her own songs,” Barry bragged. “I couldn’t resist working with her. I couldn’t resist working for her”He continued, “She’s totally her own artist. She’s very original.”Barry added that Autumn Marini’s newest project will be an “explosive album.” “It’s an incredible piece of work,” he said.Blackground Records is responsible for finding some of our other faves including Tank and Jojo, as well as Toni Braxton’s “Libra” album, which featured her hit single, “Please.”Are you here for the rebirth of Blackground Records 2.0
