Aaliyah’s vinyl reissue of her 1994 debut, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, recently returned to shelves, but attention quickly turned from the music to the cover art when fans noticed that on some sealed copies, a hype sticker appears to sit directly over R. Kelly’s face.
Aaliyah’s estate then added fuel to the rumors with a message from her official social media account.
“We hope that y’all listened to instructions carefully While bumpin’ ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number’ the just released reissue on your record players this week,” the post read. “Aaliyah’s got a 90’s swing So be careful and share your copy with us please Yeah, hmm… – Team Aaliyah.”
We hope that y’all listened to instructions carefully While bumpin’ “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number” the just released reissue on your record players this week…Aaliyah’s got a 90’s swing So be careful and share your copy with us please Yeah, hmm… – Team Aaliyah #aaliyah pic.twitter.com/Bmn6s3zFHX
— Aaliyah (@aaliyah) May 18, 2026
The account shared a TikTok from a fan holding the record, with the sticker covering Kelly on the front and the fan’s thumb hiding the disgraced R&B singer’s name on the back. Soon, fans compared their own copies and spotted a similar placement. The post quickly went viral.
Kelly wrote, produced and performed on the project after meeting Aaliyah through her uncle, Barry Hankerson. Later, reports alleged that Aaliyah and Kelly had secretly married, though Aaliyah would have been 15 at the time. Neither confirmed it publicly.
Aaliyah died in 2001 at age 22. Kelly was convicted in 2021 of federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
