Kelis Slams Pharrell Williams Over "Petty" Sampling Debacle on Beyoncé's Renaissance Album

Kelis called out Pharrell Williams, who wrote and produced her 2003 smash "Milkshake," for not informing her that an interpolation of the song would be used on Beyoncé's new Renaissance album.

By Gabrielle Chung Jul 29, 2022 9:10 PMTags
Watch: Kelis CALLS OUT Beyonce for Renaissance Sample

Kelis just brought some beef to the yard.

Amid the highly anticipated release of Beyoncé's Renaissance album, the R&B singer shared some heated words about an interpolation of her smash single "Milkshake" being used on "Energy," the the fifth song off of the Destiny's Child alum's new record. According to Kelis, she was not informed of the sample ahead of time and called out both Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams—who wrote and produced "Milkshake" with his The Neptunes producing partner Chad Hugo—for never reaching out.

"Pharrell knows better. This is a direct hit at me," she said in an Instagram video posted on July 28. "It's very petty."

Calling the situation "frustrating," she continued, "I have the right to be frustrated. Why? Because no one had the human decency to call and be like, 'Yo, would like to use your record.'"

Kelis further alleged that this was done "on purpose," calling it a "very passive aggressive" move.

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"It's very stupid," she added. "I'm gonna say what I have to say. I don't mince my words."

Released in 2003, "Milkshake" was featured as the lead single for Kelis' Tasty. Pharrell and Chad are credited as the song's sole writers.

Renaissance, Beyoncé's seventh studio album, was dropped on July 29. In the composer credits of "Energy," Pharrell and Chad were listed as songwriters amongst others, including Beyoncé. However, the credits noted that the track "contains an interpolation of 'Milkshake' written by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and performed by Kelis."

Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images, Rachel Murray/Getty Images, Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

In another Instagram video, Kelis said that she does not consider "Energy" to be a collab because "the definition of collaboration means that we are working together."

"There's no working together if you are not even checking to see if everything's cool," she added. "That's a problem."

E! News reached out to reps for Beyoncé and Pharrell but did not hear back. Neither has publicly addressed the allegation.

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