Kelis Called Out Beyoncé And Pharrell Over Claims That They Sampled Her On “Renaissance” Without Permission | Big Indy News
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Kelis Called Out Beyoncé And Pharrell Over Claims That They Sampled Her On “Renaissance” Without Permission

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8 months ago

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Beyoncé’s new album is here, but not without controversy.

The first installment of Beyoncé’s three-part Renaissance project dropped at midnight on Friday, marking her first solo album since she released Lemonade in 2016.

Boasting 16 tracks, the album pays homage to dance music, sampling iconic hits by the likes of Donna Summer and Robin S., who recently said she was thrilled to have her work included.

Kelis’s megahit “Milkshake” has also been incorporated into the album, featuring in the fifth track, “Energy.” However, Kelis has now spoken out to claim that the song was used without her permission.

For some context, production duo Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — known as the Neptunes — are listed as the two writers of “Milkshake,” which was released in 2003, with Kelis credited as the sole performer.

Kelis and the Neptunes have a long and complicated history, with the duo also having worked on her first three albums in 1999, 2001, and 2003.

According to new track credits for “Energy” shown on Spotify and Apple Music, both Williams and Hugo are listed among the numerous cowriters on the song, while Kelis goes unmentioned.

Despite not being listed in the song’s credits, Kelis’s involvement in Renaissance was teased earlier this week after Beyoncé released an official tracklist naming the artists set to be sampled in each song.

A fan account on Instagram reposted the list on July 25, prompting a response from Kelis, who revealed that this was the first time she’d heard that her work was being used on Renaissance.

Commenting from her verified business account, @bountyandfull, Kelis wrote in response to an excited fan: “It’s not a collab it’s theft.”

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

“I heard about this the same way everyone else did,” she continued. “Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity and they have everyone fooled.”

Kelis also replied to a fan who said that they thought Beyoncé admired her, writing: “admire is not the word.”

On Thursday, the singer elaborated on her frustrations in a pair of videos shared to her personal Instagram account, first speaking in more detail about why she felt hurt by Beyoncé.

“The reality is that my real beef is not only with Beyoncé, because, at the end of the day, she sampled a record, she’s copied me before, she’s done this before, so have many other artists,” she began. “It’s fine, I don’t care about that.”

She went on to criticize Beyoncé for her failure to reach out and notify her that she was going to sample “Milkshake,” saying the gesture would have shown “common decency.”

Focusing on “the real issue” at hand, Kelis turned her attention to Williams and Hugo, detailing a decade-spanning dispute relating to the ownership of her older music.

“I know what I own and what I don’t own. I also know the lies that were told. I also know the things that were stolen. Publishing was stolen, people were swindled out of rights — it happens all the time, especially back then,” she said.

This comment, and the wider controversy surrounding “Energy,” stems back to the fact that the Neptunes — more specifically, Williams — allegedly “swindled” Kelis out of the rights to her earlier records that they produced.

Because of this, Kelis claimed in her video that Williams’s failure to reach out or credit her on “Energy” was a purposeful jab, intended to be “petty” and “passive aggressive.”

“Pharrell knows better. This is a direct hit at me [and] he does this stuff all the time,” she said. “The reason I’m annoyed is because I know it was on purpose.”

“This is not like some, ‘Oh, they were in the studio…’ No. No, this was an on-purpose, direct hit, which is very passive aggressive, it’s very petty, it’s very stupid,” she added.

In a second video posted shortly after, Kelis told fans that her anger is “really not about Beyoncé” but rather about Williams’s “hypocrisy” in his alleged treatment of her as an artist.

“Pharrell, who did an interview last year talking about artists’ rights and how people should be able to rework their deals and artists should be getting credit for what they’ve done,” she said, referencing a 2020 Variety interview.

“When in reality, when I was signed to [his record label], I had the same manager that he had and he has writing credits on my records. OK. All my singles, coincidentally. And he never wrote a song, a lyric a day in his life,” she claimed.

Kelis also called out Beyoncé’s “hypocrisy,” saying that her actions did not align with the “female empowerment” she champions in her music.

“The reality is, all of this female empowerment, it only counts if you really do it — if you’re really living it and walking the walk,” she said. “It’s real cute and fun to sing all these girls’ songs — come on now. Let’s be real.”

She stated she felt it was necessary to call out the unjust behavior she was seeing across the board. “Someone has to talk about it and bring it up,” she said. “And it just so happens that I was thrown in this.”

Referring to “Energy,” she concluded by accusing Beyoncé and the Neptunes of “thievery.”

“It’s not a collaboration. … The definition of collaboration means that we are working together. There’s no working together if you are not even checking to see if everything’s cool. That’s a problem,” she said.

This is not the first time Kelis has spoken out against the Neptunes and the legal rights to her older music.

In an interview with the Guardian in 2020, Kelis said that she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by Williams and Hugo and their legal teams, alleging that she didn’t make any money from the sales of her first two albums, which were produced by the duo.

“I was told we were going to split the whole thing 33/33/33, which we didn’t do,” she told the outlet. “I thought it was a beautiful and pure, creative safe space, but it ended up not being that at all.”

When probed about the legalities of this, Kelis explained that Williams and Hugo would direct her toward paperwork whenever she questioned them on the unfair split.

“Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it,’” she said.

Hugo — who Kelis said was “spineless” in her recent Instagram videos — dodged questioning about the rights to her music during an interview with Vulture earlier this year.

“I heard about her sentiment toward that,” the producer said when asked about her comments to the Guardian. “I mean, I don’t handle that. I usually hire business folks to help out with that kind of stuff.”

“We made some cool records back then with Kelis,” he added. “It’d be great to connect with her again somewhere down the line.”

BuzzFeed News has reached out to representatives for Pharrell Williams and Beyoncé for comment.



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Celebrity

Joe Sugg sends hidden message to Dianne Buswell as he spends Christmas with his family

Published

3 months ago

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December 23, 2022

By






Andrea Caamano



Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell might be thousands of miles apart this Christmas, but they are still very much on each other’s minds.

Whilst the Strictly Come Dancing pro partner has been gushing about reuniting with her parents, her brothers and her nieces, and hitting the beach, Joe has returned to Somerset to spend time with friends and family.

The 31-year-old has been documenting his “wonderful trip to the shire” and couldn’t help but send girlfriend Dianne a hidden message.

VIDEO: Dianne comments on having children with boyfriend Joe

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Whilst gushing about his stay “at the amazing Court Farm”, a lovingly restored 16th Century farmhouse in Somerset, Joe sent Dianne a décor hint, revealing: “I kinda want our house to look like this!“

Joe has travelled to Somerset to see family and friends

The gorgeous bedroom, as shown in a photo posted on his Instagram Stories, boasts a superking bed under a vintage chandelier, with an authentic barn door which opens onto a bathroom with both a huge walk-in shower and contemporary roll top bath.

Joe also praised the log burner, keeping him warm during his stay. “You cannot beat a good log burner this time of year,” he wrote.

The couple fell in love whilst taking part on Strictly Come Dancing

The theme would no doubt work well in Joe and Dianne’s country home in Sussex. The couple met on Strictly in 2018 and swapped their London flat for their first home together complete with a beautiful garden boasting uninterrupted country views.

Joe went on to reveal to his followers that he was visiting Lacock, a village in the county of Wiltshire.

“Forever grateful for this beautiful village where I grew up,” he said.

He then visited The Lacock Bakery and showed its gorgeous window display, which featured a copy of his book, Grow: How Nature Can Restore Balance in a Busy World.

“I used to go to this bakery as a toddler in my pushchair and now look! I left a special message in this book,” he remarked.

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A look inside ABC star David Muir’s intensely private personal life

Published

3 months ago

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December 23, 2022

By






Hannah Hargrave



ABC star David Muir has long kept fans guessing about his personal life, refusing to share details online or across social media sites like many of his colleagues. But fans do know that David is still on the market and he’s not married, although it remains unclear if he is even dating.

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In fact, as the video below explains, despite being connected to several other high profile TV personalities, there’s only one certain someone who does take up David’s time…

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Despite numerous reports of romance for the World News Tonight anchor, David has always refused to publicly address his love life, but has been vocal about a number of leading ladies who he holds dear to his heart.

Kelly Ripa is one of those special people, so much so that the Live with Kelly and Ryan star paid a heartfelt tribute to David in her book, Live Wire.

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An extract from the book – which is released on 27 September – was posted on Kelly’s Instagram Stories over the weekend, and the message is included on a page of acknowledgements.

It read: “To David Muir, you are the backbone and moral compass I need sometimes.”

Kelly and David have been close friends for years

His fellow ABC star, Amy Robach, is also a firm favorite of David’s and they have been known to spend time together both on and off-screen.

His sister, Rebecca, is close with David and he calls his many nieces and nephews his “squad,” and says he’s incredibly proud of all of them.

At home, it’s his beloved gun dog, Axel, who has his heart, as he regularly shares adorable photos with the pup, who he is clearly besotted with. 

That’s not to say he hasn’t had his fair share of marriage proposals though! Not a day goes by when he isn’t flooded with compliments from his adoring fans on social media. 

But alas, the dedicated journalist is practically married to his job, leaving little time for love!

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Al Roker sparks emotional reaction as he mourns sad loss

Published

3 months ago

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December 23, 2022

By






Jenni McKnight



Al Roker shared some sad news with fans on Thursday as he paid an emotional tribute to an influential figure in his life.

The Today star – who made a shock departure announcement this week – took to Instagram to pay his respects to legendary Jamaican-born Philadelphian producer, arranger, and songwriter Thom Bell, who sadly died aged 79, although his cause of death has not been disclosed.

WATCH: Al Roker’s health battle revealed

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Sharing a photo of Thom, Al wrote: “Legendary Philadelphia producer Thom Bell passing away at 79. His music was the soundtrack of my life.

“From The Spinners, The O’Jays, The Delfonics, The Stylistics to Elton John, he was part of that distinctive Sound Of Philadelphia. Thank you for your gift.”

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Many of Al’s followers were saddened by the news and left crying-face and praying hand emojis in the comments as well as paying their own emotional tributes to the late music star.

Al paid tribute to Thom Bell

“Such a tremendous loss of an amazing talent that was able to capture and create a sound like no other,” replied one. A second wrote: “Rest in Peace. Love the music you shared with us. Prayers for his family.”

A third shared their condolences while also wishing Al a speedy recovery, writing: “Sad news – wonderful legacy. I hope you are continuing to feel better and stronger. @todayshow is not the same without you.”

It’s been a particularly hard time for Al over the past few weeks, as not only has he been recovering after having blood clots on his lungs, but he also faced the devastating news that his sister Patricia had passed away shortly after he was discharged from hospital.

Al is recovering at home with his family

The TV star, who has been a part of Today for over 25 years, was admitted to the hospital shortly after Thanksgiving due to blood clots and remained hospitalized for over two weeks.

Al, who has taken an absence from the show ever since, gave an update to viewers from home last week. “It has been a tough slog. I’m not going to lie. It has been the hardest one yet and I’ve had my share of surgeries.

He continued: “I have a lot of things and people to be thankful for. It gives you a profound sense of gratitude for this outpouring of prayers and thanks.”

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