Beyonce's already made one post-release change to her blockbuster, club-filling new album RENAISSANCE, removing a word considered an ableist slur — the same word that Lizzo was called to remove from "Grrrls" in June — from "HEATED." And now, she's made another change, removing the interpolation of Kelis's 2003 single "Milkshake" from the outro of "ENERGY."
The removal comes after a whirlwind of controversy surrounding the interpolation, with Kelis taking to social media to claim that Beyoncé failed to inform her that the song would be used. While Kelis is not officially listed as a writer or producer on the single — she has long talked about the complicated nature of her early recording contract with Pharrell — she said that Beyoncé's failure to reach out was "disrespect and utter ignorance."
Pharrell and Chad Hugo — a.k.a. the Neptunes — were credited as co-writers on "ENERGY," though their names are now gone from the RENAISSANCE credits now that the "Milkshake" interpolation has been removed.
On the original version of "ENERGY," Beyoncé sang a variation of the "La-la, la-la, la" that Kelis sang on "Milkshake." In the updated version of "ENERGY" that's now on streaming platforms, Beyoncé's series of "las" is gone. Shout out to those who bought physical, unaltered copies of RENAISSANCE, they might be worth a lot someday.
The removal comes after a whirlwind of controversy surrounding the interpolation, with Kelis taking to social media to claim that Beyoncé failed to inform her that the song would be used. While Kelis is not officially listed as a writer or producer on the single — she has long talked about the complicated nature of her early recording contract with Pharrell — she said that Beyoncé's failure to reach out was "disrespect and utter ignorance."
Pharrell and Chad Hugo — a.k.a. the Neptunes — were credited as co-writers on "ENERGY," though their names are now gone from the RENAISSANCE credits now that the "Milkshake" interpolation has been removed.
On the original version of "ENERGY," Beyoncé sang a variation of the "La-la, la-la, la" that Kelis sang on "Milkshake." In the updated version of "ENERGY" that's now on streaming platforms, Beyoncé's series of "las" is gone. Shout out to those who bought physical, unaltered copies of RENAISSANCE, they might be worth a lot someday.
