Photo: Instagram.com/beyonce
Beyoncé has removed an interpolation of Kelis’ 2003 famous hit Milkshake from her album Renaissance‘s track ‘Energy’ on Tidal and Apple after the latter accused her of “theft”.
The album that mainly received positive reviews since its introduction have been facing a few hiccups in the past week due to various reasons. In a series of Instagram videos shared last week, Kelis said that Beyoncé “should have atleast reached out” to her about using her song. “It’s not about me being jealous. Jealous of someone using my song? That’s the dumbest, most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard,” she said. “It has to do with the fact that, from one artist to another, you should have the decency and common sense and the courtesy to call.”
Although Kelis sang Milkshake, written by The Neptunes’ Pharell Williams and Chan Hugo, only the latter are credited as songwriters. The singer initially voiced her objection regarding the interpolation through a series of comments via Instagram on Thursday. The artist also made it evident that she wasn’t resentful about the usage itself, but that “not only are we Black female artists in an industry where there’s not many of us”, indicating that she and Beyoncé have met and know each other. “It’s not hard. She can contact, right?” Kelis said, referring to Ashnikko who reached out when her 2021 song Deal With It sampled Kelis’ Caught Out There.
Following Kelis’ grievance, the controversial sampling has been removed from some streaming platforms such as Tidal and Apple, however, the track’s lyrics video which was originally uploaded to YouTube on July 28 still includes the sample. The composer credits for ‘Energy’ listed on Beyoncé’s official website also note that the song “contains an interpolation of ‘Milkshake’ written by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and performed by Kelis”, although it’s uncertain if it will be modified to reflect the tune’s updated version.
Renaissance is Beyoncé’s seventh solo studio album after Lemonade and the first installment of a three-part project she recorded during the pandemic.
