Singer and songwriter Kelis accused Beyoncé of theft Thursday after the artist allegedly sampled her music without consent, credit or remuneration.
Beyoncé’s highly anticipated new album, the first she has released in over six years, is already under scrutiny. Kelis, who is best known for her song “Milkshake,” released a series of videos to her Instagram account detailing her outrage over the alleged theft. She claims Beyoncé sampled her 1999 song, “Get Along With You,” in her new single “Energy,” which was released as part of the “Renaissance” album.
“Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity and they have everyone fooled,” Kelis said.
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Kelis said she became aware of the alleged theft when fan pages began crediting her for a “collaboration” with Beyoncé, but she is adamant that no such collaboration took place.
“I heard about this the same way everyone else did,” Kelis said. After a fan called the track “the collab the world really needs,” Kelis clapped back: “It’s not a collab it’s theft,” she wrote, and went on to call the sampling “ridiculous.”
“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding,” Kelis said.
Lacing in to Beyoncé, Kelis pointed to the alleged underlying issues in the industry. (RELATED: Beyoncé’s Highly Anticipated Album Leaked 2 Days Before Worldwide Release)
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“Not only are we black female artists in an industry where there’s not that many of us, we’ve met each other, we know each other, we have mutual friends. It’s not that hard to contact [me],” Kelis said. “It’s just common decency … even if you’re gonna do it anyway.”
“There are bully’s [sic] and secrets and gangsters in this industry that smile and get away with it until someone says enough is enough. So I’m saying it today. I’m coming for what’s mine and I want reparations,” Kelis warned.