Kelis Opens Up About Being Sampled On Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Album
Beyoncé’s song “Energy” from her upcoming album Renaissance features a snippet of a track by Kelis, but Kelis said she had no idea until the rest of the world found out.
In a series of comments made from Kelis’ cooking Instagram account, @bountyandfull, the singer shared her thoughts on her track “Get Along with You” appearing as a sample on “Energy.” Produced by the Neptunes, the original appeared on his 2000 album Kaleidoscope.
“My mind is also blown because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance from all 3 parties involved is staggering,” reads a comment from the handle @bountyandfull on a news fan page. “I heard about it the same way everyone else does. Nothing is ever what it seems, some people in this business have no soul or integrity and they have fooled everyone.
One fan commented, “Awesome…this is a collab the world really needs.” Kelis replied, “That’s not collaboration, that’s stealing.” In another response, she called the situation “ridiculous.”
When one user wrote, “I’ve always felt like Beyoncé really admires Kelis,” the singer replied, “admiring isn’t the word.”
Kelis then took to her own Instagram account to bring it all up, writing, “I just heard the record everyone says has my sample. But that’s beyond this song at this point.
Kelis continued in the caption of the second post, “That was a TRIGGER for me. ‘Milkshake’ alone is one of the most licensed records of our generation. I’m a creator, I’m an innovator, I did more than leave my mark on an era of music and style that will go down in history. But there are bullies, secrets and gangsters in this industry who smile and get away with it until someone says enough is enough. So I say it today. I come for what is mine and I want reparations.
With “Get Along with You” being credited to Pharrell and Chad Hugo, it’s unclear whether Bey would have been legally obligated to clear the sample with Kelis before the release of Renaissance.
Kelis has been outspoken about the rights to her music in the past and alleged in 2020 that the Neptunes were supposed to split the profits with her equally, but didn’t.
“I thought it was a safe, beautiful, pure and creative space. But it ended up not being that at all,” Kelis recalled in an interview with the Guardian. “I was told we were going to split it all up on 33/33/33, which we didn’t.”
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