Kelis says Beyoncé was ‘disrespectful’ for not reaching out before sampling her hit song ‘Milkshake’ on her new album ‘Renaissance’

• Beyoncé’s fifth track on her new album “Renaissance” interpolates Kelis’ hit song “Milkshake.”
• Kelis called out Beyoncé on Instagram for not having the “decency” to contact her before using it.
• She also called out Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited on the track.

Kelis has publicly called out Beyoncé for using her hit song “Milkshake” on the singer’s new album “Renaissance” without reaching out to her.

The fifth track on the album, “Energy,” interpolates Kelis’ 2003 hit track. However, Kelis said Thursday that she only just found out about the use of “Milkshake” when the tracklist and production credits were made public.

Using her company’s Instagram page Bounty and Full, the singer commented on a post by @KelisTrends which reported the use of Kelis’ track.

“My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding,” Kelis wrote. “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.”

The singer added in another comment: “it’s not a collab it’s theft.”

Kelis then posted two Instagram videos to elaborate on her comments. She said that she doesn’t care that Beyoncé used her song but she thought the Grammy award-winning singer could have easily contacted her.

“Ashnikko, who’s 20, she reached out. It’s just common decency,” Kelis said in one video.

Kelis said that she also had “beef” with Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo who are credited on “Energy” as well as the original “Milkshake” track.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2020, she said: “I was told we were going to split the whole thing 33/33/33, which we didn’t do. [I was] blatantly lied to and tricked [by] the Neptunes and their management and their lawyers and all that stuff”.

She added that she didn’t initially realise that she wasn’t receiving any income from her recordings, because touring was earning her a living, but when she did and complained, she said: “Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed [an agreement]’. I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it’”.

The fact that the long-running beef between Kelis and The Neptunes is no secret – and Williams and Hugo have their credits on the Beyonce track – means there probably isn’t a straightforward copyright claim regarding use of ‘Milkshake’ in ‘Energy’.

KELIS IS NOT CREDITED ON BEYONCE’S ALBUM

Kelis previously claimed that she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by the pair, when she signed her first recording contract. She said she made no money from sales of her first two albums, despite originally agreeing to split everything three ways with Williams and Hugo.

“[Beyoncé] is one issue because it was stupid and disrespectful and she should have at least reached out,” Kelis said in her Instagram video. “But the real issue is the fact that the people like Pharell and like Chad. Pharell knows better. This is a direct hit at me. He does this stuff all the time. It’s very petty. And the reality is it’s frustrating.”