Kelis Calls Out Pharrell And Chad Hugo Over Allegedly Not Clearing The Beyoncé ‘Renaissance’ Sample With Her

Earlier today, Kelis voiced her frustrations over one of her records being sampled on Beyoncé’s upcoming album Renaissance without it being cleared. She commented on the @kelistrends Instagram page and went back and forth with fans who were excited about the “collaboration.” Evidently, the Harlem artist had much more to get off of her chest in the form of a near three-minute rant that a fan posted to Twitter, where Kelis called out Pharrell and Chad Hugo for purposely participating in the “theft.”

From the very beginning of the video, the 42-year-old clarifies that her beef is not only with Beyoncé, who she says has copied her before much like many other artists. “The issue is not only are we female artists, Black female artists, in an industry that there’s not that many of us,” Kelis says. “We’ve met each other, we know each other, we have mutual friends. It’s not hard, she can contact me.” She then compares the situation to when Ashnikko went through the proper channels to connect with her to clear “Deal With It,” where she sampled Kelis’s “Caught Out There.”

Kelis continued her diatribe by calling the “Bey Hive” sheep for defending her and pointing out how Kelis doesn’t own her music before turning her attention to Pharrell and Chad Hugo.

“Chad really is like an amoeba, he’s spineless. It’s a miracle he can keep his neck up, but Pharrell knows better. This is a direct hit at me, he does this stuff all the time. It’s very petty–very, very, very–and the reality is that it’s frustrating. I have the right to be frustrated. Why? Because no one had the human decency to call and be like ‘Yo, hey, would like to use your record.’ Which, by the way, is the reason I’m annoyed because I know it was on purpose.”

A new Beyoncé release always causes hysteria, so this situation isn’t too surprising, but it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. As of now, there have been no comments from the Lemonade artist, Pharrell, or Hugo.

Kelis Says She Didn’t Know She Was Sampled On Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’: ‘It’s Not A Collab It’s Theft’

Beyoncé’s highly anticipated album Renaissance, arriving tomorrow, is full of sampled artists, including Donna Summer, Big Freedia, and Kelis. Kelis, though, is not happy about it. On an Instagram post made by the account @kelistrends about Kelis being sampled on Renaissance, Kelis shared her frustrations in the comments.

“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding,” she wrote. “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.”

She argued with fans in the comments, replying to those excited about the collaboration: “it’s not a collab it’s theft,” she wrote. People pointed out that her beef is not with Beyoncé but instead with Pharrell, who she accused of stealing profits from her after she worked with him on her first two records. She opened up about the feud in an interview last year: “Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it,’” she told the journalist. “I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it.’”

Check out the original Instagram post below.

Beyonce Fans Are Appalled By An ‘MGK Punk Pop’ Cover Of ‘Break My Soul’

When Beyonce’s house-influenced new single “Break My Soul” first dropped, there were naturally a few fans put off by the pop-R&B queen’s shift into dance music styles. It didn’t take long for folks to jump aboard though, leading to a renaissance (sorry) of interest in Black-led dance music. Even Robin S. started to receive some belated and much-deserved accolades for her role in pioneering house music in the ’90s.

However, while Beyonce’s genre experimentation is part of a larger movement to reclaim traditionally Black music, that doesn’t mean that fans can appreciate further attempts to transform her work. Enter Ali Spagnola, a social media personality who has made kind of a name for herself with attention-grabbing stunts. Along with her band, she has reinterpreted the song as a pop-punk track in a video titled, “What if Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’ was by MGK?”

Obviously, it didn’t take long for the video to get negative attention from Beyonce fans for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that it’s kind of … not good. It’s also problematic thanks to some of the reasons stated above, which makes it a bad look in the eyes of many fans who are left to wonder if Spagnola just didn’t get the cultural subtext or got it and just didn’t care (both options sap the intended humor of the situation, given the historical context here). But attention seems to have been the goal all along, and Spagnola hasn’t had any problem with retweeting the criticism as well as the sporadic praise. She even doubled down, posting a video about “How we turned Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’ to MGK punk pop.”

And now, if you’ll excuse me, my soul is definitely broken, because I am not Beyonce, so I’m gonna go lie down until I stop feeling so queasy.

Beyoncè’s “Renaissance” Album Leaked Two Days Early

Beyoncè

The Beyhive is in a buzzing frenzy as Queen Bey’s highly-anticipated Renaissance album is leaked. The Beyhive is in a buzzing uproar after learning Beyoncè’s Renaissance album was leaked. According to Variety, “high-quality flac files that certainly sound like the album” were already available on the internet two days early. Some fans are eager to […]

The post Beyoncè’s “Renaissance” Album Leaked Two Days Early appeared first on SOHH.com.

Barack Obama’s 2022 Summer Playlist Includes Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Wet Leg, And Other Diverse Picks

Now that Barack Obama is no longer occupied with being our country’s president, he has found himself with more time to focus on his true passion: Sharing lists of things he likes a few times a year. The former POTUS’ latest mix was his favorite songs of 2021 and now he’s back with his annual summer playlist.

Sharing it on social media today, he wrote, “Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies — it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together. Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add?”

Obama’s playlists are usually an eclectic mix and that’s the case here, too. He has some picks from popular modern artists, like Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Harry Styles’ “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” Drake and Rihanna’s “Too Good,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Die Hard.” He also has rock selections old and new, like Wet Leg’s “Angelica,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark,” and Jack White’s “I’m Shakin’.”

Other artists who made the cut include Tems, Sampa The Great, Rosalía, Lil Yachty, Prince, Maggie Rogers, Al Green, Dr. John, Miles Davis, Burna Boy, Doechii, Aminé, Aretha Franklin, Bad Bunny, Rakim, D’Angelo, Nina Simone, Caamp, Otis Redding, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, Fatboy Slim, Omar Apollo, Maren Morris, The Internet, Vince Staples and Mustard, and Kacey Musgraves.

Check out the full playlist above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Beyoncé Taps Collaborators Jay-Z, Mike Dean, The-Dream and More on “Renaissance” LP Out July 29

beyonce Renaissance

Beyoncé shares the tracklist with song collaborators from her forthcoming project Renaissance. The album’s first single, “Break My Soul,” debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Currently sitting at at #1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for the third week. According to Chart Data, it’s the longest running #1 released in 2022.

On Renaissance the queen tapped veteran hitmakers Mike Dean, The-Dream, her hubby Jay-Z and more for her seventh studio album, which is set to drop July 29. 

READ MORE: Beyoncé Brings Her Entire Catalog to TikTok and Shares First Video

The 28-time Grammy Award winner confirmed features from Tems and the legendary Grace Jones on “Move” that sent the internet into a frenzy. While Bey tapped Dancehall artist, BEAM on “Energy” for a total of 3 features. She also unveiled an alternate vinyl cover for Renaissance and has a pre-order link available on apple music.  

Other notable collaborators the BeyHive can expect are Drake, Raphael Saadiq, Sabrina Claudio, and Pharrell Williams

Share your thoughts and comments with us on social media.

The post Beyoncé Taps Collaborators Jay-Z, Mike Dean, The-Dream and More on “Renaissance” LP Out July 29 appeared first on The Source.