Kanye West has been a tour de force in the music industry. The rapper has been anointed as one of the greatest producers of all time in the history of rap. Since his debut trilogy albums, Ye has cemented his position with his interpolating music from different genres. But while doing that, he has upset several artists, including the legendary Chaka Khan.
In 2003, when Kanye West debuted his single ‘Through The Wire’, he used Chaka Khan’s 1984 ‘Through The Fire’ as a sample. In the song, Ye paced up Chaka’s voice, which made the artist upset. Khan cleared the sample after her son insisted on it, but the result was not compelling enough for her, and she felt that she sounded like a chipmunk on the track.
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Chaka Khan Was Upset That She Sounded Like A Chipmunk
Throughout the years, Chaka Khan held a grudge against Kanye West for wrongfully sampling her 1984 song ‘Through The Fire’. In 2003, Ye released his debut single titled ‘Through The Wire’. The rap song was inspired by an incident in which Ye experienced a near-death experience. In 2020, Khan felt it was an insult when he sampled the song and made her sound like a chipmunk.
In another interview in 2022 with Good Day D.C., the interviewer asked Chaka Khan if she ever approached Kanye to express her distaste. The ‘Like Sugar’ singer answered, saying, “I’ve not heard from him, and I’m not looking to hear from him. That’s what he did with his music. I was upset about sounding like a chipmunk, ’cause he didn’t put that when he asked [if he could] sample my song.”
Chaka Khan learned a lesson about lending permission to artists to use her songs as a sample. She added, “He didn’t mention he was going to speed it up three times its normal speed. Had he, I would’ve had something to say. But since I didn’t think of that, believe me, I think of it now. I ask, ‘How are we gonna do this?’”
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The Artist Does Not Hold Any Grudge Against The Artist
Chaka Khan has finally wrapped her head around the issue with Kanye West, and she does not hold any grudges against the rapper. During a recent interview, Khan said that she did not understand the art of hip-hop when Ye used her sample. But the singer has now come to terms with it, and she is done holding grudges against it.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Chaka Khan said, “That was my fault, too, for feeling salty about that in any way. Because if I understood the rap game more completely, like I do now, then that wouldn’t have been a big deal to me.” Does it bother the ‘I’m Every Woman’ artist? Chaka said, “No, I’m done. Please. I’m not hanging on to any silly grudges.”
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