Chaka Khan Blasts Rolling Stone’s Greatest Singers List By Offering Her Thoughts On Mary J. Blige, Adele, Mariah Carey, And More
Rolling Stone‘s 200 Greatest Singers list was a huge flop because they failed to include THE GREAT SINGUH IN DA WORLD Celine Dion. However, they got a few names right, even if one of those singers, cantankerous chanteuse Chaka Khan, believes the entire list wasn’t worth her time to read. We already know she’s prepared to throw hands the next time she sees Kanye West. And now there’s a brand new Soul Train line of folks, including Adele, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige doing the Running Man towards Chaka’s house to ask her about her most recent comments. Because Chaka has apparently retired from singing to become a librarian because of the way she reads these girls like a best-selling novel.
During a recent visit to Los Angeles Magazine’s The Originals podcast Chaka and host, Andrew Goldman discussed the list, where she came in at #29. And she wasted no time giving her hot take on some of the artists because ain’t nobody gonna check Chaka for her responses. LA Magazine reports;
[Chaka] reveals her personal thoughts on Rolling Stone’s list. Apparently, the very existence of the magazine’s list was unknown to the legendary singer before the podcast’s host, Andrew Goldman, congratulated her on being included.
“I didn’t even know what the hell you were talking about, so obviously this don’t mean a great deal to me,” she told him. “These people don’t quantify or validate me in any way.”
Chaka actually began talking about Mary (who came in at #25) earlier in the interview, recalling the time Mary covered her song Sweet Thing for Mary’s 1992 debut album What’s The 411?. Chaka revealed she believes Mary “fucked up” her song, something she has already shared with her in private. However, it’s the explanation she gave that proves Chaka left her filter back in the 1970s. Chaka asked Mary what time of day did she record the song, and when Mary informed her she did so at 8 in the morning, Chaka replied, “Girl you don’t sing nothin’ at 8 o’clock in the mu’fuckin’ morning…if you [would’ve] been up all night smoking crack or somethin’, I don’t know. Might’a been a different thing. But you don’t get up at 8 o’clock in the morning to sing girl”. Now mind you, Mary is her friend. So you can only imagine how hard she went in on a bunch of broads she has no close relationship with at all.
Some of Rolling Stone’s decisions struck her as apt, like granting Aretha Franklin the top spot (“As she fucking should be”) and including Joan Baez on the bubble, at #189 (“let’s be honest, the bitch cannot sing. Now, she was a good writer.”) In granting Mariah Carey the #5 spot, however, Khan suspects the kind of industry chicanery that has long dogged the singer (“That must be payola or some shit like that.”).
It was Adele’s inclusion, a few spaces ahead of Khan at #22, that brought on a momentary existential crisis. (“Okay, I quit.”) However, nothing seemed to prepare Khan for the news that longtime frenemy Mary J. Blige appears on the list just ahead of her, at #25. Khan remarked on Rolling Stone’s editors. “They are blind as a motherfucking bat! They need hearing aids…These must be the children of Helen Keller!”
Um, somebody tell Chaka that you don’t need eyes to listen to music. As for what she said about Mariah and Adele… via Page Six:
When asked about Carey coming in at No. 5, Khan jokingly alleged, “That must be payola or some shit like that.”
When Goldman asked about Adele being ranked at 22, Khan just threw up her hands, quipping, “OK, I quit.”
But Chaka did have some good things to say about Whitney Houston (#2 on the list) and Beyonce (#8):
The singer also took pride in Whitney Houston coming in at No. 2 by saying, “Great… I’m the one who introduced her to [music mogul] Clive [Davis].”
“And I introduced her to the business,” she added. “I made her mother bring her down to the studio and sing background with me. Her and Luther Vandross. They both sang background for me on my albums,” she said.
As far as Beyoncé at No. 8? “I don’t have anything to say about Beyoncé. She’s a great singer… She’s got the chops. She does,” Khan said.
Well, I hope this prompts someone to give Chaka her own podcast where all she does is talk shit about the industry, like someone’s great-aunt holding a belt in one hand and a glass of Reunite in the other. And they should call it Chaka Gotcha SHOOK! Here’s a preview of what it would sound like.
Pic: INSTARImages