"Though the Wire" may be one of Kanye West's most notable hits, but don't play the track for Miss Chaka Khan.
While on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday (June 26), the legendary songstress got real about her thoughts of the 2004 track, which samples her 1985 song "Through the Fire."
"How did the conversations go with Kanye when he used your song 'Through the Fire' on 'Through the Wire?'" host Andy Cohen asked.
"Very differently than the song turned out," the legendary songstress responded.
"You were not happy with how the song [turned out]?" he asked, to which Chaka simply replied "No."
"He called me when he got out of the hospital," she 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.'" The 66-year-old singer added, "[His story] meant that much to me, and it really got my heart." So, she allowed him to sample her song.
However, she said when she heard the track for the first time, the sped up hook took her by surprise. "I was pissed," Chaka said. "I was a little insulted — not insulted, I thought it was stupid." She then said that if she had known that that was what he was going to do to her song, she would have said "hell no" to him sampling the track.
Despite her frustration with the Grammy-nominated track, when asked if she ever confronted Kanye about her feelings about it, Chaka said no: "I mean, what can I say?" While she may not be happy with the song till this day, she did say she makes money off the track.
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