August 21, 2025
Cardi B is officially back in album mode. On Friday, the rap superstar released her new single “Imaginary Playerz,” a bold track that samples Jay-Z’s classic “Imaginary Player.” The release comes...
Read moreAugust 21, 2025
Gary Oldman opened up about his decades-long friendship with the late David Bowie, calling the world a very different place since the music icon’s death in January 2016. In a heartfelt interview...
Read moreAugust 21, 2025
The Queen of Pop just proved she's still the ultimate trendsetter even when it comes to birthday cakes. Madonna rang in her 67th birthday with a luxurious Italian getaway capped off by an enormous...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
Former Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall isn't mincing words about artists who avoid political engagement, specifically calling out The 1975's Matty Healy for what she sees as a privileged stance. In...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
PinkPantheress has once again cracked the code of Gen Z’s collective brain chemistry with her track Illegal. It’s short, it’s addictive, and it’s the kind of song that makes you feel like you’re...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
Conan Gray has never been shy about writing songs that feel like reading your high school diary at 2 a.m. with the lights off. But with Caramel, he’s gone full Willy Wonka heartbreak mode. It’s...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
PinkPantheress has always had a gift for making music that feels like it was recorded inside your daydreams, half diary entry, half late-night Tumblr scroll. With Romeo, she’s taken that talent and...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
Every so often, a song arrives that feels less like a single and more like a cinematic event. LISA’s latest release, DREAM featuring Japanese actor and heartthrob Kentaro Sakaguchi, is exactly that...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
If Cardi B has taught us anything, it’s that she doesn’t just rap, she throws down verbal haymakers wrapped in couture and glitter. Her new joint, “Imaginary Playerz,” is a full-on drag session for...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
Everyone’s favorite pop-punkers, Joyce Manor, are back with their first new song in three years. The surprise single, “All My Friends Are So Depressed,” is out now via Epitaph Records, blending...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
In 2025, Christian culture is prevalent, although it was previously on the outside of popular music. The Billboard Hot 100 is dominated by religious-themed songs like Benson Boone's...
Read moreAugust 20, 2025
Michael Tait, a well-known Christian rock musician (DC Talk, Newsboys), has admitted to engaging in "unwanted sensual" behavior and substance misuse for decades. Multiple accusers allege abuse...
Read morePhoto: Frank Micelotta (Getty Images)
Whether you’ve been a fan of Kanye West from the start, or you’ve recently watched his Netflix trilogy “Jeen-Yuhs”, you’ve probably heard his of first breakout single into the rap industry “Through the Wire”, which samples Chaka Khan’s hit song, “Through the Fire”.
Changing the title from “fire” to “wire”, Kanye was inspired to make this song after a car accident left him with a shattered jaw, causing him to undergo surgery. Having found comfort in listening to Khan’s “Through the Fire” during his seven day stay at the hospital, he was inspired to sample the song for one of his own mixtapes. Recorded with his jaw still wired shut, “Through the Wire” was born.
In the scene from part two of “Jeen-Yuhs”, Kanye plays the song for legendary producer Pharrell Williams who, despite only having heard two of Kanye’s songs including “Through the Wire”, is amazed by the song and declares Kanye as one of his favourite artists.
While Chaka Khan, whose son had been good friends with Kanye, was touched at first, she has been vocal over the years on her true feelings of West’s “Through the Wire”. In a recent interview with VladTV, she discusses her distaste for Kanye’s choice of raising the original pitch of the song. After initially being under the impression that her original chorus would remain untouched, Khan says “It was an insult” to the original version of the song.
However after thirty-five years of performing the song, Khan says she’s done with “Through the Fire” and isn’t as heated as she used to be after all.