Chaka Khan Says She Was 'Pissed' After Hearing Kanye West Sample Her Song on 'Through the Wire'
In 2003, Kanye West skyrocketed to fame due to the release of “Through the Wire” — the famed song he recorded with his jaw wired shut following a nearly-fatal car accident.
For the hit, West, 42, sampled Chaka Khan‘s 1985 track “Through the Fire” and as it turns out, the legendary singer wasn’t too happy with the end result.
On Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked Khan, 66, “how did the conversations go with Kanye when he used your song ‘Through the Fire’ on ‘Through the Wire?’
“Very differently than the song turned out,” Khan responded.
“You were not happy with how the song [turned out]?” Cohen, 51, asked, to which Khan said “No.”
“He called me when he got out of the hospital,” Khan continued. “He said, ‘You were so instrumental in my healing process. I had to change the words a little bit to the song, but I had to eat through a wire, you know, and I was wired shut, through a straw.'”
“It meant that much to me, and it really got my heart,” Khan said.
However, when she heard the song for the first time, she was taken aback as the hook was extremely sped up.
“I was pissed,” Khan said. “I was a little insulted — not insulted, I thought it was stupid.”
Khan went on to admit that had she known West was going to change her vocals, she would have said “hell no” to him sampling the track.
When asked if she ever told West how she felt, Khan said no: “I mean, what can I say?”
Nonetheless, Khan did explain she has made money off the song.
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A rep for West did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“Through the Wire” was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to Jay-Z‘s “99 Problems.”
The music video won Video of the Year at the 2004 Source Hip Hop Awards.
Earlier this month, it was announced that fans will be hearing a new song from West when season 2 of BET’s Tales returns.
PEOPLE had a sneak peek of the 42-year-old rapper’s new song “Brothers” featuring Charlie Wilson, which was co-produced by Tales‘ show creator Irv “Gotti” Lorenzo. “Brothers” will be featured in the July 2 premiere episode and will be included in the series’ soundtrack.
“Brothers” is West’s first solo project in a year after he released his album ‘Ye in June 2018. Since then, he’s been featured on collaborations such as December 2018’s “One Minute” with XXXTentacion and January’s “Mixed Personalities” with YNW Melly.
The Tales‘ single also comes nearly a year after the September 2018 release of “I Love It” with Lil Pump — the song which he and West performed together on Saturday Night Live, dressed in outfits resembling bottles of Perrier and Fiji Water.
The 21-time Grammy winner — who welcomed his fourth child, son Psalm, via surrogate on May 9 with wife Kim Kardashian West — continues to work on his forthcoming album Yandhi as well as his weekly Sunday Services, which is centered on music performances that include some of his greatest hits such as “Jesus Walks” and “Lift Yourself.”
