Chaka Khan performs onstage during Angel Ball 2022 hosted by Gabrielle's Angel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on October 24, 2022 in New York City.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
At the start of this year Rolling Stone ran a list of The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. Like all good list-making, it contained some undeniable truths (Aretha Franklin topped the poll) and some provocative decisions to get the people going. Celine Dion fans, for example, were so outraged by her not making the list in any capacity that they protested outside the publication's offices.
In addition to Dion's fans, the list has also riled Chaka Khan, who landed at No.29 on the final list, sandwiched between Hank Williams and Mahalia Jackson. Khan was asked about her position in a new interview with The Originals podcast and her response was refreshingly undiplomatic, taking shots at her peers, some of the younger artists who were placed higher than her, and those involved in compiling the list. “I didn’t even know what the hell you were talking about, so obviously this don’t mean a great deal to me,” she told host Andrew Goldman. “These people don’t quantify or validate me in any way.”
Once she started hearing names and numbers, however, Khan's interest was piqued. In Khan's view, Joan Baez was lucky to scrape in at No.189 (“let’s be honest, the bitch cannot sing. Now, she was a good writer.”) Mariah Carey's No.5 spot, meanwhile, was dismissed as "payola or some shit like that.” As for Adele (No.22) Khan's response was a curt: "I quit."
It was Mary J. Blige, however, for whom Khan reserved the most outrage. Blige's No.25 spot, a crucial four positions above her own, led the "Ain't Nobody" singer to say of those responsible for the decision: “They are blind as a motherfucking bat! They need hearing aids…These must be the children of Helen Keller!”
Of course, this isn't the first time Mary J. has been criticized by Khan, who reportedly referred to the former's 1992 cover of "Sweet Thing" as "the song Mary J. Blige fucked up." Khan acknowledged that on The Originals, saying they had since patched up their differences. "She and I have that kind of relationship we can talk...you know, I love her. She loves me. We don’t have a problem. Now the press would love to make it a motherfucking problem.”
