Once upon a time, there was a man named “Old Kanye,” born Kanye Omari West. After suffering a terrible accident, which led to his jaw having to be wired shut, the young rapper released a single titled, “Through The Wire.” That single would launch one of the most compelling careers in hip-hop. Then, several years later, he wore a MAGA hat.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself here.
I distinctly remember when “Through The Wire” was released in 2003. I found myself super impressed with the ambitiousness exuding from my radio speakers as West passionately rapped about his journey. I was sitting there cheesing, so excited that this scrappy backpack-sporting dude from Chicago (my neck of the woods) was on his way up—all the way up. Speaking of cheese, remember when ‘Ye used to refer to himself as “Kanye Cheddar”? Okay, I’m actually digressing now.
Point is, I was thrilled about the prospect of a Chicago-proud rapper who was not only on the precipice of a huge career but creatively shouting out a fellow Chicago native in his debut single with a sample.
But, plot twist: It turns out the Chicago native he sampled wasn’t really feelin’ the result.
Chaka Khan recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen to discuss her less-than-satisfactory feelings about the way Kanye decided to sample her song, “Through The Fire.”
“He called me when he just got out of the hospital,” Chaka recalled, fully in diva-mode, holding a handheld fan with her sparkled name written on it. “He said, ‘You were so instrumental in my healing process. I changed the words a little bit to the song but I had to eat through a wire. Jaws wired shut through a straw.’ It meant that much to me. It really got my heart, tugged at my string. I was like, yeah, use it.”
Awww. But wait, there’s more.
“Then, when it came out, I was pissed,” Chaka admitted. “It was a little insulting. Not insulting, I thought it was stupid. If I’d known he was gonna do that, I would have said, ‘Hell no.’”
Cue gasps, shock and horror. When Cohen asked if she told Kanye about her disappointment, she simply noted that her silence said it all. “Crickets,” she quipped.
So… how much money do you have on Kanye going on a Twitter rant about this? I got five (Monopoly dollars) on it.