Chaka Khan, sampled on Kanye West’s “Through The Wire,” calls the song “stupid”

The legendary singer had some words for how many used her vocals on the 2004 song.

June 27, 2019

Kanye West has released a bit of bad music recently, but everyone agrees that his star-making 2003 single "Through The Wire" is a classic. Well, almost everyone. Chaka Khan, whose 1984 song "Through The Fire" is sampled on "Through The Wire," panned Kanye's song during her recent appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

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Khan recounted how West called her as he was recovering from a car accident that left him with a broken jaw, wired shut. "[West] 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... It really got my heart, tugged at my strings."

These conversations with West went "very differently than how the song turned out," Khan claims, adding that she was especially upset with how "Through The Wire" pitches up her sampled vocals. "I was pissed... 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.’”

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As Genius points out, the music video for "Through The Wire" concludes with a "Thank You" message from Kanye to Chaka. Lol.

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Thumbnail photos by David Surowiecki/Getty Images for Hugo Boss and Oliver Contreras - Pool/Getty Images

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Chaka Khan, sampled on Kanye West’s “Through The Wire,” calls the song “stupid”