What song did Beyoncé sample? Kelis hits back on ‘Get Along With You’ use on Renaissance

At midnight on Friday 29 July the latest album from Beyoncé was released on streaming services, the pop icon’s seventh solo studio LP. The album, entitled ‘Renaissance’, is the first instalment of a long-awaited three-part series from Bey.

Initial reactions to the album were very positive, coming six years after the release of ‘Lemonade’. The album was actually leaked online two days before it was due to be released but her fans opted to wait for the official release.

“So, the album leaked, and you all actually waited until the proper release time so you all can enjoy it together,” Beyoncé wrote in a statement. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

But Queen Bey’s latest offering was not warmly received by all and fellow R&B legend Kelis hit out at the use of one of her tracks as a sample. She has claimed that her 2000 tune ‘Get Along With You’ was used in Beyoncé's new track ‘Energy’.

Pharrell William and Chad Hugo, who comprise the hip-hop duo the Neptunes, are credited as the writers on both Kelis’ original and Beyoncé's Energy.

Kelis hits out at Beyonce’s track sample

The public backlash started when an Instagram post by an account called ‘kelistrends’ shared an old picture of Kelis and Beyoncé together, with the caption, “@Beyoncé's Renaissance album will include a @kelis sample on the song ‘Energy’”

However Kelis, writing from her personal account ‘bountyandfull’ commented on the post, claiming “It’s not a collab, it’s theft.”

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

She said: “The reality is that my real beef is not ONLY with Beyoncé because, at the end of the day, she sampled a record, she’s copied me before. She’s done this before, so have many other artists. It’s fine, I don’t care about that.”

Kelis’ claims quickly gained traction online, with her claims receiving very polarising responses. Some backed her stance and called for greater creative protections for artists, while others claimed that sampling is a widely-accepted part of popular music.

Kelis angered by previous dealings with the Neptunes

Kelis has also pointed the finger of blame at the Neptunes for taking advantage of her earlier in her career. She began working with enigmatic producing duo she was just 19 and claims that she was not properly compensated for some of her earlier work.

“I thought it was a beautiful and pure, creative safe space, but it ended up not being that at all,” she told the Guardian in 2020. She claimed that she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by “the Neptunes and their management and their lawyers”.

Pharrell Williams was signed with the same manager at the time when Kelis found huge success with ‘Milkshake’ and ‘Millionaire’ and he is credited as a writer on many of her tracks.

“He ain’t never written a song, a lyric a day in his life,” Kelis has since claimed.