Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Kelis for comment and additional information.
While “Milkshake” is formally a Kelis song, she is not listed as one of its producers, composers, or lyricists, per Tidal credits. The track’s producers are Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, Rob Walker, and the Neptunes. In addition, Hugo and Williams are the composers and lyricists of “Milkshake.” Kelis is referenced in the credits as the song’s performer.
In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Kelis claimed that “she made nothing from sales of her first two albums,” suggesting that she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by “the Neptunes and their management and their lawyers and all that stuff.”
“I was told we were going to split the whole thing 33/33/33, which we didn’t do,” she said. “Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it.’”
Kelis is not the first artist to be surprised at being sampled or interpolated on Renaissance. “Break My Soul,” the album’s lead single, contains elements of Robin S.’ “Show Me Love,” and, therefore, credits songwriters Allen George and Fred McFarlane (but not Robin S.). In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Robin S. said she had no formal contact with Beyoncé and her team ahead of the single’s release, and that she learned about the use of her music because her son told her she was “trending all over the place.”
Robin S. also thanked Beyoncé for using elements of her music: “This is Robin S, and this message goes out to the Queen Bey herself, Beyoncé, to Jay-Z, to the entire team: Thank you so much for giving me my flowers while I’m still alive. I am honored, and I’m excited to see what else can happen.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story erroneously claimed that “Get Along With You” appeared to be sampled on Beyoncé’s “Energy.” The Renaissance song contains an interpolation of Kelis’ “Milkshake.”
This article was originally published on Thursday, July 28 at 5:46 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on Friday, July 29 at 12:47 p.m. Eastern.
