UPDATED 3/6, 10 p.m. ET: Chaka Khan did not mean to “upset” anyone when she slammed Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list in a recent podcast interview.
The legendary vocalist took her Instagram to share her sincere apology to the outlet and singers. Wishing she had reacted differently, she wrote, “Recently, I was asked about a list of the ‘greatest singers of all time,’ and instead of questioning the need for such a list, I was pitted against other artists, and I took the bait. As artists, we are unfairly put into ‘boxes,’ ‘categories,’ or on ‘lists.’ Being an artist or musician is not a competition. It’s a gift for which I am truly grateful.”
She continued, “It was not my intention to cause pain or upset anyone. To anyone that felt this way, I sincerely apologize. Thank you for all the love everyone has shown me unconditionally.”
Chaka went on to say she will continue to uplift others as she announces her new foundation. “I have always been about empowering others, and I started a foundation for that very purpose. I will be announcing soon. Empowering all artists is most important because we truly are the architects of change, and change begins within the heart. I love you all, and God bless,” she concluded.
The apology comes after the backlash from the “I Feel for You” singer insulting the magazine’s editors, calling them “blind as a motherfucking bat” and saying that “they need hearing aids.”
See original story below.
Chaka Khan took a moment to revisit her infamous feud with Mary J. Blige and again said Mary had previously butchered her cover of “Sweet Thing” in 1992.
“Sweet Thing” was introduced by Chaka in 1975 during her time in the band Rufus, and after Mary J. Blige put her spin on the track in 1992 on her album What’s The 411?, rumors were afloat that Chaka often called “Sweet Thing” the “song Mary J. Blige fucked up.”
The pair mended their relationship in 2007, and even recorded a song together called “Disrespectful,” but in a recent interview with Los Angeles Magazine’s podcast The Originals, Khan confirmed that Mary J. did indeed “fuck up” “Sweet Thing,” and said she even told it directly to her face.
“I told Mary J. Blige she fucked it up,” Chaka Khan said. “Number one, her vocals were flat, and I asked her I said: ‘what time did you, what time of day was it or night, what were you doing when you decided to cover ‘Sweet Thing’ and where were you at when you covered it?’”
She claimed Mary J. Blige then said, “Oh girl, I been up late and it was at eight in the morning, girl.”
“I said girl, you don’t sing nothing at eight in the motherfucking morning,” Khan continued. “Especially if you have to get up to sing it. If you’d been up all night, smoking crack or something, I don’t know, it might have been a whole different thing. But you don’t get up at eight in the morning to sing girl. But she and I have that kind of relationship we can talk...you know, I love her. She loves me. We don’t have a problem. Now the press would love to making it a motherfucking problem.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Chaka Khan was also made aware of Rolling Stone’s 200 Best Singers of All Time list and lost her temper when she learned that the “Family Affair” singer was placed ahead of her.
“These bitches are blind as a motherfucking bat! They need hearing aids,” Chaka said, who was placed at No. 29 on the list. “They don’t have hearing aids? They have no eyes. They have no ears. They must have a – these babies, you know what? These must be the children of Helen Keller!’”
Elsewhere, Chaka Khan also eviscerated Adele and Mariah Carey, with the latter being placed at No. 5 on Rolling Stone’s list.
“That must be payola or some shit like that,” Chaka said.
However, when she was told that Beyoncé was at No. 8, Chaka merely said, “I’m not gonna comment on that.”
“I don’t have anything to say about Beyoncé,” Chaka clarified. “She’s a great singer, okay?”
