Rapper, singer and songwriter Azealia Banks made it very clear that she is not okay with Beyoncé sampling her music. The “212” singer said as much via Instagram after a fan suggested Beyoncé use Banks’ beat for her music.
“She knew better,” Banks wrote. “Because I would have sued her, Sony, columbia, parkwood, tidal AND blue ivy. I would have sued the fake basquiat dreads right off jay‘s head. I’m not the one,” Banks blasted in the post.
Banks, who has an estimated net worth of $3 million, got her start in 2011 with her hit “212.”
Banks’ work includes “Broke With Expensive Taste,” which hit number 30 on the Billboard 200, and her breakout song was “212,” which charted at number 12 in the United Kingdom.
But this isn’t the first time Banks has popped off on another celeb. Once she made her feelings known about Cardi B, by criticizing the Bronx rapper’s intelligence and lifestyle. She also has a long-standing beef with Grimes, who claimed her new song, “100% Tragedy,” is actually “about having to defeat azealia banks when she tried to destroy my life,” Grimes said in a Discord chat.
No Samples Here
Banks isn’t the only artist who isn’t cool with Queen Bey using her work.
Kelis, best known for the 2003 pop classic “Milkshake,” also expressed frustration about Beyoncé using her music. According to PageSix, the 42-year-old singer spoke out via Instagram after Beyoncé sampled “Milkshake” in her song “Energy.”
“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding,” Kelis wrote through her @bountyandfull Instagram account. “I heard about this the same way everyone else did. Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity, and they have everyone fooled…It’s not a collab it’s theft.”
Kelis also called out the song’s collaborators, the Neptunes, who produced Kelis’ first three albums. According to Kelis, the Neptunes, made up of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, “swindled” her out of owning her music. Kelis, for example, isn’t credited as a writer or producer of “Milkshake,” which gave her no legal claim to the song, according to Buzzfeed. Despite Kelis having no control over “Milkshake,” Beyoncé complied with her fellow singer’s wishes.
While Kelis and Banks may not look at Beyoncé sampling their work as a plus, considering the “Renannainsce” singer’s industry powers, others might jump at the opportunity.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour is enjoying record-breaking success. According to Billboard, the tour earned $154 million on its European leg, making this the biggest amount and attendance of all of Beyoncé’s European tours. And Beyoncé isn’t even done with her 21-show tour. She is projected to make about $921.7 million and perform for a total attendance of 9.9 million by the end of her tour.
