Beyoncé didn’t just removed an alleged “ableist” slur lyric from her album, she also promptly cut Kelis sample amid a strong response from the “Milkshake” singer.
Days after Kelis went on a rampage bashing Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams for a sample of her song on Bey’s seventh album, Renaissance, without her knowledge, the Roc Nation artist removed the song.
On Tuesday, Beyoncé’s “Energy” was removed from the album tracklist. The song had sampled Kelis’ song “Milkshake,” but Kelis said she had not been aware or asked by Beyoncé to sample her work. She claimed that Beyoncé had no “integrity” and “no soul.”
Kelis also pushed back at fans who suggested she should be grateful for being recognized by Beyoncé.
“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding,” she wrote on social media. “I heard about this the same way everyone else did. Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity, and they have everyone fooled.”
Kelis did not state whether she had owned the rights to the song, but Beyoncé had credited her on the new song as if she was a writer. After Kelis’ furor, Beyoncé has never addressed Kelis’ comments publicly.
On Tuesday, the song was conspicuously absent from the tracklist of the album. The “Milkshake” sample could not be found on TIDAL, but it remained up on fellow streaming sites Spotify and Apple Music. It is speculated that the sample that cast negativity over Beyoncé’s long-awaited return to music since releasing her solo album Lemonade in 2016 will also be removed from all other platforms.
Beyoncé’s latest album has been flooded with controversy as her first single, “Break My Soul,” was also a sample from Robin S, who had also bitterly complained that the song was sampled without her knowledge and that she only became aware after her son heard it on the radio.
Beyoncé later smoothed things over by sending flowers to Robin S as she spoke about her being an inspiration and paving the way for younger artists.
The artist had noted in her comments about ‘Renaissance’ that it sought to pay homage to artists of times gone by. Many songs on the album are samples.
On the upside, Beyoncé removed an “ableist” slur from her song “Heated,” which was co-written by Drake after criticisms by the disabled community.
