Credit: Alamy

Kanye West is well-known for his samples, reworking songs from Nina Simone, Ray Charles and Curtis Mayfield into his music over the years. However, getting samples cleared isn’t always simple.

Ye released his third album Graduation in 2007, which included a song called ‘Champion’ that he produced alongside Brian ‘AllDay’ Miller. The track utilises a chopped-up vocal sample of Steely Dan’s ‘Kid Charlemagne’ from the band’s 1976 album The Royal Scam. The sample takes the line, “Did you realise, that you were a champion in their eyes?” for the chorus.

During an interview with Complex, Steely Dan member Donald Fagen revealed that they initially rejected Kanye’s request to sample the song. Then, Ye wrote a handwritten letter to the group that completely changed their perspective.

“Kanye actually sent us a sample of his tunes, and frankly, Walter and I listened to it, and although we’d love some of the income, neither of us particularly liked what he had done with it,” he said. “We said ‘no’ at first, and then he wrote us a hand-written letter that was kind of touching, about how the song was about his father, and he said, ‘I love your stuff, and I really want to use it because it’s a very personal thing for me.'”

He continued, “My mind doesn’t work like that—I would never use someone else’s stuff if I was writing something personal, but I guess that’s how he was thinking about it. It was such a good letter that we said, ‘All right, go ahead,’ and we made a deal with him.”

‘Champion’ was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2020, recognising one million units sold in the US. Then, in 2023, the song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for selling 200,000 units in the UK.

Kanye raps on the song, “When it feel like living’s harder than dyin’/ For me, givin’ up’s way harder than tryin’/ Lauryn Hill said her heart was in Zion/ I wish her heart still was in rhymin’/ ‘Cause who the kids gon’ listen to?/ Huh? I guess me if it isn’t you.”

Speaking on the process of clearing samples, Fagen said, “It’s changed over the years. In the beginning, they used them without asking, and then, there were lawsuits, so they started asking for licenses. Now, when they sample, they almost always ask for a license. Our management will make a deal where we get part of the composing royalties.”

As for sampling at large, he stated that he would prefer rappers to do something creative with their work. “That’s my main thing,” he said. “I don’t have any moral objection; I just prefer that they do something interesting, rather than something that’s ugly. If they really make something new out of it, then that’s cool, it doesn’t bother me. I like that tune, ‘Déjà Vu’. And I like that Ice Cube made a track from ‘Green Earrings’. That was pretty cool.”

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz gave the band full writing credit and a six-figure advance to sample ‘Black Cow’ for their 1998 hit ‘Déjà Vu (Uptown Baby)’. Cube also sampled their 1976 song ‘Green Earrings’ for ‘Don’t Trust ‘Em’, which appeared on his 1992 album The Predator.