Chaka Khan Admits She Did NOT Like Kanye West Sampling Her “Through The Fire” Song: I Thought It Was Stupid!

Chaka Khan Admits She Did NOT Like Kanye West Sampling Her “Through The Fire” Song: I Thought It Was Stupid!

Kanye West is known for sampling a lot of classic R&B/Hip-hop songs whether he is making music for himself or for other artists. However, not everyone has been a fan of some of his reworking of past hits.

On Monday (June 26), R&B legend Chaka Khan made an appearance on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live. Cohen asked her how the conversation went with the 808s and Heartbreak rapper regarding her 1985 hit “Through the Fire” that Ye sampled for his debut single changing ‘Fire’ to ‘Wire’.

The song, which would go on to peak at No. 15 on the pop charts, was a personal song for Yeezy, as he had got into a severe car accident two years prior, that resulted in his jaw being wired shut.

In a very stern voice, Chaka said,

“Very differently than the song turned out, obviously. 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.'”

However, once the ‘I’m Every Woman’ singer heard what the song sounded like, she was not happy saying,

“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.'”

When asked if she ever expressed her honest feelings towards the song to Kanye, she responded,

“I didn’t. What can I say?” The best way to tell him is silence. And give him crickets.”

On a positive note, the Chicago native did say that she received royalties from the record.

Listen to both versions below.

What are your thoughts about Chaka’s remarks about the song? Let us know in the comments.