Brooke Hogan defends his decision to talk about a dead story Aaliyah2000’s “Try Again” as he marked his return to the music industry.
“Obviously, I talked about this whole argument with ‘Try Again,’ didn’t I?” Hogan, 38, said in a video shared on Instagram on Friday, May 15. “It’s like, literally, ‘Dust Brooke off and try music again’ is the theme. We did.”
Because Hogan said producers and music executives “want nostalgia” and want “old-school Brookie,” he decided to do “two covers” after revealing he’ll be releasing new music for the first time in years with his new single “Wanna Go Back,” a sophisticated ode to his late father. Hulk Hogan. (Hulk died in July 2025 at the age of 71 after suffering a heart attack.)
“I love Aaliyah. I love ‘Try Again.’ This makes sense with all my emotions, what I’m going through,” Brooke explained. “I love him.”
He added, “You’d think, I was knocking down the American flag. Some people were like, ‘This isn’t cool. You’re trying’ … Well, what’s your name — not ‘participating,’ you know what I mean. ‘Trying to be black.’ I’m like, ‘I know I’m not Black.’ That doesn’t mean I can’t love Black culture. Doesn’t mean I can’t be an Aaliyah fan. It doesn’t mean I can’t do a cover.”
Brooke continued to recall the word she was trying to remember – “assignment” – before denying allegations that she was trying to steal parts of Black culture and pass it off as her own.
“No, I’m not doing that,” he continued in the video. “But you can’t be mad at a girl if she likes Black culture. I’m sorry. I spent 15 years suffering from it, but you know – you can’t help it. Love what I like. Like what I like. I was raised on hip hop, funk, you name it. Some people were raised on country music. I didn’t.”
Brooke then explained what happened in the comments section of her social media after posting a photo with her co-producer “back when I was hanging out with her. Lou Pearlman.” The producer was Black, and he says the comments he received after the public photo are proof that racism is “alive” and okay.
“I commented in mine saying, ‘If you’re asking, if you’re wondering if racism is alive, just look at my comment section.’ Just look,” he said. “Just ask a white girl who has actually been in a relationship with a black person — just ask if she thinks that racism is alive. If you’ve ever dealt with someone of another race, or if you’re a person of another race dating a white person, it’s very alive and that’s very sad.”
He added, “So you know, I’ve never seen color and I’ve always loved black music.”
Brooke captioned the earnestly uploaded, “‘ZAM AGAIN’ IS FINALLY OUT AND I HAVE ALL THE MUSIC GUESTS AGAIN!!! Man, this is fun!”
“THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support!” Brooke continued with the caption. “Fans old and new! I love you! You have always allowed me to be my true self and MAKE my dreams come true. THANK YOU!”
