Chaka Khan has taken a more enlightened approach to Kanye West‘s use of a sample of her classic song, “Through The Fire,” for his debut single “Through The Wire.”
The legendary diva spoke with Rolling Stone for an interview that went live on Thursday (December 28). There, she revealed that while she wasn’t a fan of the song at first, she couldn’t blame Ye for her disdain. Because she did give him permission to use her vocals, but wasn’t aware that they were going to sped up.
“And you know, that was my fault, too, for feeling salty about that in any way,” she said. “Because if I understood the rap game more completely, like I do now, then that wouldn’t have been a big deal to me.”
Chaka Khan then reiterated that she didn’t want to keep rehashing the topic, adding: “I’m done. Please. I’m not hanging on to any silly grudges.
While Chaka Khan certainly feels like her beef with Kanye West is petty today, she didn’t always feel that way.
Back in 2019, she told Andy Cohen that she thought West’s sample was “stupid.”
“[The conversations went] very differently than the song turned out, obviously,” she said. “… He called me when he just got out of the hospital. He said, ‘You were so instrumental in my healing process. I had to change the words a little bit to the song, but I had to eat through a wire, you know, and I was wired shut, through a straw.’
“It meant that much to me, and it really got my heart. It pulled … at my [heart] strings,” she continued. “So I said, ‘Yeah. Use it.’ Then when it came out … I was pissed.”
Khan added that if she would have been aware what he was going to do with her song, she would have shot ‘Ye down.
“Not insulting. I thought it was stupid,” she said. “If I had known he was gonna do that I would’ve said, ‘Hell no.’”
But rather than talk to ‘Ye about how she felt, she decided silence speaks volumes.
“I didn’t [talk to him]. What can I say?” she said. “The best way to tell him is silence. And give him crickets.”
