Beyonce
Singer also has to edit “Energy”.
Beyoncé is causing a stir with her new album “Renaissance”.
© Mason Poole
Because she had used a sample from Kelis without being asked, Beyoncé now had to edit the song “Energy” afterwards.
Beyoncé (40) has to go back to her album “Renaissance”, which was released last Friday. After she changed the song “Heated” because of an offensive expression, the song “Energy” also had to go under the knife. This time it’s about a musical quote.
The song subtly incorporates an allusion to the well-known Kelis hit “Milkshake” from 2003, more precisely: the “La la la la” passage from the chorus. Beyoncé sings this at the end of her song – which is more of a quote than an official sample.
Apparently, Kelis was not informed of this or asked for permission. Kelis (42) shared her dissatisfaction with this procedure last Friday via social media. “It’s not a collaboration, it’s theft,” she complained in a comment on Instagram according to “NME”.
Credit goes to Pharrell Williams
The song “Milkshake” was originally written and officially produced by The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams (49) and Chad Hugo (48). The two musicians were also credited as songwriters – Kelis was only mentioned as the “performing” artist. Apparently behind Kelis’ irritation there is another injustice she sees.
In one of her video statements last week, the musician also claimed that Williams didn’t write any of her songs, so she owned the songwriter credits. She asked that too on Instagram clear. There she emphasized that it would have been a trigger for her and that it was about more than the new song. “There are bullies and secrets and gangsters in this industry who smile and get away with it until someone says enough is enough,” she clarified.
Apparently Beyoncé didn’t want to get involved in this argument with her credits. With the streaming service Tidal and Apple Music according to “NME” meanwhile none of the “Milkshake” artists are mentioned in the credits anymore. Instead, the “La la la la” refrain passage was removed from the song.
Already the second change
It’s the second belated change to Beyoncé’s long-awaited new album. In the song “Heated” the singer used a word that could offend people with disabilities. She apologized in a statement on social media and removed the line of text in the latest version.