Chaka Khan is still upset over Kanye West sampling her 1984 hit, “Through The Fire,” for his debut single, “Through The Wire,” in 2004.
In an interview with Good Day DC, the 10-time Grammy-award-winning singer said even though she permitted him to sample her song, she didn’t expect to sound like a “chipmunk” once she heard his completed song.
“That’s what he [Kanye] did with his music,” said Khan. “I was upset about sounding like a chipmunk because he didn’t put that when he asked could he use [sample] my song. 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.”
West is known for speeding up samples of music from yesteryear, most notably on his 2007 hit single, “Good Life,” where he sampled Michael Jackson’s 1982 record “P.Y.T” (Pretty Young Thing).
This isn’t the first time the 69-year-old singer voiced her disapproval of the iconic hip-hop record. In an interview with Vlad TV in 2020, Khan said West reached out to her and asked to use “Through The Fire” after continuously listening to it while recovering from injuries sustained during a car crash.