Beyoncé has responded to Kelis’ accusations of ‘theft’ by removing an interpolation of the latter’s hit single ‘Milkshake’ from one of her new songs. Watch the video below.
The ‘Break My Soul’ hitmaker released her new album, Renaissance, on 29 July and while the new collection has been celebrated by fans and critics alike, one person who was not pleased was Kelis.
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In the original version of the album’s fifth track ‘Energy’, the 40-year-old music icon can be heard singing ‘la-la, la-la, la’ in reference to Kelis’ iconic 2003 single ‘Milkshake’.
An interpolation in music refers to when a melody – or parts of a melody – from a previously recorded song are used in a new song.
Shortly after the song was released along with Beyoncé’s new album, the ‘Acapella’ singer, 42, criticised Beyoncé’s team for not giving her notice about the usage of ‘Milkshake’.
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She posted comments on Instagram to call out ‘the level of disrespect’ after the public began discussing the interpolation on social media.
Kelis wrote: “My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all three parties involved is astounding.
"I heard about this the same way everyone else did. Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity and they have everyone fooled.”
In response to a comment that described the usage as a 'collab', Kelis wrote: “It’s not a collab it’s theft.”
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In a video posted to her own Instagram page, Kelis explained: "My real beef is not only with Beyoncé because at the end of the day, she sampled a record... it's fine, I don't care about that... the issue is... we've met each other, we know each other, we have mutual friends, it's not hard, she can contact [me].
"It's just common decency, especially because... I know what I own and what I don't own... It's not about me being mad about Beyoncé... she's one issue because it was stupid and disrespectful and she should have at least reached out, but the real issue is the fact that the people, like Pharrell and like Chad [Hugo].... Pharrell knows better, this is a direct hit at me."
Beyoncé has established a reputation of not making public statements during controversies and she has expectedly avoided addressing the Kelis situation publicly.
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However, in the wake of the backlash, ‘Energy’, the song at the centre of the issue, appears to have been updated on streaming platforms, with the ‘la-la’s’ removed from the track.
Tyla has reached out to representatives for both Beyoncé and Kelis for comment.
This is not the only controversy that has rocked the Renaissance era. Beyoncé’s representatives confirmed on Tuesday (2 August) that the offensive ableist slur ‘s**z’ would be removed from the song ‘Heated’.
Gregory Robinson