Following the outspoken criticism of fellow music artist Kelis, Beyoncé has quietly removed the interpolation of the 2003 hit Milkshake from her new song Energy.
Featured on Beyoncé’s latest Renaissance album, Energy is now available on Tidal and Apple Music without the interpolation.
Though Renaissance was released last Friday, the Crazy in Love songstress released her track listing prior to the album’s debut.
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, Energy credits the Neptunes, the music production duo comprised of Chad Hugo and Pharrell.
The pair is best known for working with artists like Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg, Kelis and more, producing Milkshake and other smash hits in the early 2000s.
But after finding out that Milkshake was being interpolated into a track for Beyoncé’s album, Kelis wasn’t very pleased, taking to her social media accounts to express her frustration at her former production team and Beyoncé.
Kelis Calls Out Beyoncé, Chad Hugo and Pharrell
Writing under her cooking Instagram account, Kelis first explained her issue, stating, “It’s not a collab, it’s theft.”
The 42-year-old singer-rapper continued, “My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding. Nothing is ever as it seems, some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity, and they have everyone fooled.”
Still venting about her frustrations, the Harlem native then took to her personal Instagram account to discuss things further in a video.
Referring to Beyoncé, Kelis stated, “She’s one issue, because it was stupid and disrespectful and she should have at least reached out.”
But then, she turned her attention to the Neptunes, continuing, “[Chad’s] spineless, it’s a miracle he can keep his neck up. But Pharrell knows better. This is a direct hit at me. He does this stuff all the time. It’s very petty.”
In a second Instagram video, she described the situation as a “trigger” for her, writing in the caption, “I am a creator, I’m an innovator, I have done more [than] left my mark on an era of music and style that will go down in history. But there are [bullies] 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.”
Second Renaissance Album Controversy
Though the Renaissance album is set to have two parts, the famed entertainer released Act I of her project on July 29.
And though fans have been blasting the 40-year-old’s new songs non-stop, Beyoncé found herself in another controversy following the album’s release.
The singer-songwriter was called out for her use of the word “s***z” in her song Heated and labeled ableist for not understanding the impact that it could have on disabled people.
Her team later confirmed that the song lyric would be taken out, saying in a statement, “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced.”
Fellow Houston-born singer Lizzo faced similar backlash in June after using the same word in her song Grrl She later apologized and announced that the song would be re-released without the offensive word, writing on Twitter, “I’m proud to say there’s a new version of GRRRLS with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action.”