If you want an honest opinion on just about anything, ask Chaka Khan. The singer is one of the most celebrated voices in Soul, Funk, and R&B. She is hailed as one of the greatest voices of her generation and beyond, and Khan is respected among her peers. She holds nearly every coveted music award in her lane, and dozens of successful artists and musicians credit her as an inspiration. However, in recent years, it isn’t just Chaka Khan’s music that has earned attention.
She’s a powerhouse in the studio and her interviews. While many artists often take the politically correct route, the acclaimed singer usually dishes out opinions that give the public pause. This happened again when Khan visited Los Angeles Magazine‘s The Originals Podcast, where she was asked about her fellow singers. She discussed Mary J. Blige’s cover of her hit “Sweetest Thing,” and it was clear Chaka wasn’t a fan.
Chaka Khan Told Mary She Messed Up The Song
“I told Mary J. Blige she f*cked it up,” Chaka Khan said. “Number one, her vocals were flat. And I asked her, I said, ‘What time of day was it or night, what were you doing when you decided to cover ‘Sweet Thing’? And where were you at when you covered it?’” Khan claimed Blige told her she was up late, until 8:00 a.m. “I said, ‘Girl, you don’t sing nothing at eight in the motherf*cking morning. Especially if you have to get up to sing it.’”
“If you’d been up all night, smoking crack or something, I don’t know,” she added. “It might have been a whole different thing. But you don’t get up at eight in the morning to sing, girl. But she and I have that kind of relationship. We can talk. I love her. She loves me. We don’t have a problem. Now the press would love to making it a motherf*cking problem.”
Mariah Carey & Adele Catch Strays
If that wasn’t controversial enough, Rolling Stone’s 200 Best Singers Of All Time list was also a topic of conversation. Chaka Khan, who made No. 29. shared her ire with not only the choices but where they were placed. “These b*tches are blind as a motherf*cking bat! They need hearing aids. They don’t have hearing aids? They have no eyes. They have no ears. These babies, you know what? These must be the children of Helen Keller!’”
After suggesting “payola” was the culprit, Khan avoided commenting on one singer in particular. When it came to Beyoncé, she didn’t want any smoke. Check it out above.