The legendary Chaka Khan often called the Queen of funk, has once again given a harsh critique of a well-known figure. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Khan did not hesitate to let loose on the singer and reignite their long-running feud. 2023 is an important year for Khan marking her 50 years in the music business. She’ll also be celebrating her 70th Birthday later this year. However, with so much cause for celebration, the vocalist still had some strong words for Blige.
Earlier this year, the ‘I’m Every Woman’ singer bagged a spot on Rolling Stone’s ‘200 Greatest Singers of All Time’ list. The musician was surrounded by legends and featured relatively high in the rankings at number 29. David Bowie sat three positions behind and Paul McCartney only three ahead of Khan. The magazine’s list was highly controversial, as legends, who many would argue are leagues beyond Khan, featured very low on the list. The iconic Diana Ross landed at 87 and Tina Turner at 55. Furthermore, the list caused an uproar when fans discovered that Canadian vocalist Celine Dion had been somewhat snubbed.
During a recent appearance on the award-winning podcast The Originals, Khan, in an arguably ungrateful fashion, revealed that the list did not mean anything to her. In fact, the legendary singer did not even know the list existed before the podcast’s host, Andrew Goldman, congratulated her on being featured. Disregarding the list after being made aware of it, Khan stated, “I didn’t even know what the hell you were talking about, so obviously this don’t mean a great deal to me. These people don’t quantify or validate me in any way.”
However, the singer was curious as to who else featured within the top 200, and when she was made aware that Mary J Blige featured on the list four spots ahead of her, she was unhappy to say the least. Taking aim at Rolling Stone and indirectly slandering Blige, Khan exclaimed, “They are blind as a motherfucking bat! They need hearing aids…These must be the children of Helen Keller!” In 1992, for her debut album, Blige covered a track Chaka Khan featured on. Alongside Rufus the 1975 track was entitled ‘Sweet Thing’ and upon hearing it Khan was not impressed. When Khan performed the original classic years later she addressed it as “the song Mary J. Blige fucked up!”
It’s fair to say, the two have had a rocky relationship and although Blige has never responded to Khan, the ‘Through The Fire’ singer has always been candid with regard to her sentiments to Blige. You can hear The Originals podcast in the video below.
