Chaka Khan Is Still Angry With Kanye West For Making Her Sound Like A Chipmunk On His Song “Through The Wire”

August 4, 2022 / Posted by:

Years ago, before creating overpriced slides allegedly inspired by Adidas and The Jetsons, Kanye West used to make music. His first major hit as a rapper was the song Through The Wire where he took the Chaka Khan classic Through The Fire (which was written by David Foster, Tom Keane, and Cynthia Weil) and flipped it into one of the best songs in his catalog. Through The Wire ushered in the era of the Old Kanye but unfortunately, Chaka has never been a fan of it. And since we’re on the subject of sampling thanks to Beyonce, Chaka Khan has said that she’s still angry about how Kanye took her voice and made her sound like The Chipettes on speed.

For reference, here’s Kanye’s Through The Wire:

Apparently, Chaka has taken up a new career as a comedian, because whenever she has a chance to talk shit about Through The Wire, she always gives an effortless performance. Uproxx reports in a 2019 interview with Andy Cohen during Watch What Happens Live, Andy stirred the pot by asking Chaka what she thought of the track and she treated his question like he asked her to eat seasoned rat feces on a cracker during high tea.

She responded sternly, “Very differently than the song turned out, obviously.” When pressed, she continued, “He called me when he just got out of the hospital. He said, ‘You were so instrumental in my healing process. I changed the words a little bit to the song but I had to eat through a wire. Jaw’s wired shut through a straw.’ It meant that much to me. It really got my heart, tugged at my string. I was like, ‘Yeah, use it.’”

She continued, “Then when it came out, […] I was pissed. I thought it was a little insulting. Not insulting: I thought it was stupid! If I’d known he was gonna do that, I would have said, ‘Hell no.’”

Clearly, our time in quarantine gave Chaka a moment to become even angrier because she’s still mad. Huffington Post reports that her new reason has nothing to do with not liking the song but mainly because he made her sound like a singing woodland creature.

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.”

Chaka, I feel for you. But we’ll see if Kanye decides to pull a Kanye and drag Chaka Khan on Twitter for this. If he does, he’ll risk walking through the fire in HELL for daring to talk shit about Chaka Khan!

Check out the entire interview below.

Pic: Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com

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