Chaka Khan Says She Was Furious When She First Heard That Kanye West Sampled And Sped Up Her Song
Isabella Harris According to a report from Page Six, Chaka Khan wasn’t very pleased when she first heard Kanye West’s 2004 song, “Through The Wire,” which sampled one of her tracks. The iconic singer claims when she gave the 42-year-old rapper permission to use her song from 1984, “Through The Fire,” she didn’t expect the song to turn out in the way that it did.
The 66-year-old, Khan, stopped by the set of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and dished on how the rapper told Khan her music helped him recover from a terrible car accident seventeen years ago in 2002.
In reference to the Life Of Pablo artist, the star said to Andy Cohen, “you were so instrumental in my healing process,” and he apparently called her right after exiting the hospital.
Khan said he had to eat through a straw for a while, “through the wire,” because his mouth was wired shut. Khan said it “really got” her right in her feelings. However, following the song’s release, Khan said she didn’t like the way it was sped up so much from the original.
Khan said, “I was p*ssed,” and also a little bit “insulted,” because she thought the way he changed the song was dumb. According to the 66-year-old, she never would’ve given him permission to use her music had she known he was going to speed up her vocals in the way that he did.
During her conversation with Andy Cohen, Khan admitted she never actually told him the way she felt about it because she chose to stay silent about it instead.
Coincidentally, Kanye West, in addition to his rapping skills, has received repeated praise for his ability to take samples from classic songs and turn them into entirely new tracks. Perhaps some of his most iconic samples have been taken from Curtis Mayfield and Ray Charles.
Fans of West will remember the music video featuring Jamie Foxx, “Gold Digger,” which featured a sample from Ray Charles’ song, “I Got A Woman.” Truthfully, the song featured the vocals from Jamie Foxx, rather than Ray Charles himself claims the song’s Wikipedia page, although parts of the track did feature “I Got A Woman” samples.
