The Source |Chaka Khan Says She’s Still Upset About How Kanye Sampled Her Vocals For “Through the Wire”

Its been almost 20 years since Kanye dropped his debut album, The College Dropout. The lead single for the album was “Through The Wire” which Ye recorded with his jaw wired shut following a near fatal car crash. The song itself features a sample from Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire” and is pitched up to give it that signature “chipmunk” sound.

Ever since the “Through the Wire” was released, Chaka Khan has gone on record to say that she hates the song, especially how Kanye pitched up her vocals to sound like a “chipmunk.” In a new interview with Good Day DC she doubled, maybe even tripled down on her previous comments, letting it be known just how much she hates that song.

The singer was asked if she’s heard from Kanye after having voiced her disapproval on the song. “I’m not looking to hear from Kanye, either,” she said. “No, I’ve not heard from him and I’m not looking to hear from him. That’s what he did. That’s what he did with his music. I was upset about sounding like a chipmunk, ’cause he didn’t put that when he asked [if] he could use my, sample my song. He didn’t mention that he was gonna speed it up three times its normal speed.”

Khan added that had Kanye told her of his plans with the sample then she probably would have denied him his request. She also stated that Kanye is the reason why she artists specify exactly what they intend to do with her music when trying to sample it.

You can watch the interview here.