Chaka Khan Says She Was 'Upset' with How Kanye West Sampled Her Hit Song for 'Through the Wire'

Chaka Khan still dislikes the way Kanye West chose to edit her voice on "Through the Wire."

In a new interview with Good Day D.C., the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee opened up about feeling displeased after hearing the end result of how West sampled her 1984 hit "Through the Fire" for his 2003 debut single "Through the Wire."

During the chat, host Marissa Mitchell asked if West, 45, ever reached out to discuss Khan's much-publicized distaste for the track, which the 69-year-old musician said made her "upset about sounding like a chipmunk."

Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Brad Barket/Getty Chaka Khan, Kanye West

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"I've not heard from him, and I'm not looking to hear from him. That's what he did with his music," said Khan of the track, which includes a pitched and sped-up version of her song. "I was upset about sounding like a chipmunk, 'cause he didn't put that when he asked [if he could] sample my song."

"He didn't mention he was going to speed it up three times its normal speed," she continued, noting the experience changed her perspective on allowing artists to use her music. "Had he, I would've had something to say. But since I didn't think of that, believe me, I think of it now. [When someone asks to sample my music] I ask, 'How are we gonna do this?'"

Khan previously spoke about West's use of "Through the Fire" during a 2020 interview with VladTV and recalled that her son frequently hung out with the Yeezus rapper after the near-death car accident that left his mouth wired shut and inspired "Through the Wire."

"He said that he had listened to 'Through the Fire' a great deal in his recovery, and that warmed my heart," she said, noting that West then asked to sample the track — one of her first experiences having a rapper re-use her work.

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"I thought about it. I said, 'Well, he can't mess it up because I will be singing it after all. It's my voice,'" she continued. "But he found a way. By golly, he found a way to freak that up... I hate [the chipmunk voice]."

The host noted that artists still get paid when a sample of their work is used, to which Khan then stated, "It was an insult, period. I'm not doing this for money. Do you understand? I was very upset with that."

In 2019, Khan also spoke about the ordeal on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. "It was a little insulting," she told the host. "Not insulting— I thought it was stupid. If I'd known he was gonna do that, I would have said, 'Hell no.'"