KAYTRANADA has claimed that Beyoncé‘s team tried to lowball him when trying to buy the rights to his remix of ‘Cuff It’.
Last week, the Canadian DJ-producer sat down with Vulture ahead of his upcoming ‘Timeless’ North American headline tour. In the interview, he spoke about opening for Beyoncé on her birthday during last year’s highly-acclaimed ‘Renaissance’ world tour.
The magazine wrote that KAYTRANADA told them Beyoncé’s team offered to pay him “next to nothing” to retain all the rights to his ‘Cuff It’ remix.
“Sometimes people don’t see your worth and how important you are,” he told the publication, adding that he was comfortable enough to say no because “I know what I mean to people”.
@cuffin_szn Kaytranada’s Cuff It Remix🔥 #kaytranada #beyonce #cuffit #cuffitdancechallenge #remix #fyp #foryoupage
Beyoncé’s fanbase, the BeyHive, later criticised KAYTRANADA’s comments – leading the Montreal star to explain what he meant in a since-deleted post on X/Twitter: “Mannnn, I didn’t drag her – that’s just what happened. The remix didn’t get a release and it is what it is, but later that year I opened [for] her on tour AND on her Bday on top of that. Now what? I love that girl & y’all ain’t gonna make me look like I ain’t rocking with her.”
‘Cuff It’ was the disco-inspired standout track of Beyoncé’s seventh album, ‘Renaissance‘. The song topped NME‘s 50 Best Songs of 2022 because it was an “enduring anthem” and “is total ecstasy and an unexpected gift to the pop canon of all time, let alone 2022”.
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In the same interview, KAYTRANADA revealed that he was approached to work on Drake‘s first electronic album ‘Honestly, Nevermind’. He said he was asked to make beats for the record at a Coachella after-party and thought it was an “honour” but, later overheard that his response of “Sure, hit me up” lacked enthusiasm. “Was I supposed to be like, ‘Oh my God, for real? Drake?’ I’m not like that,” he said.
Back in June, KAYTRANADA dropped his third studio album, ‘Timeless’, which featured the likes of Tinashe, Anderson .Paak, SiR, Don Toliver, Thundercat and more. In a glowing four-star review, NME wrote: “This album acts as a bookmark of his creative evolution, and its polished production work makes it a good representation of his musical identity thus far.”
He celebrated the release by headlining All Points East last month. During his set, Channel Tres surprised the fans with a quick performance of their latest collaboration, ‘Drip Sweat’.
In other news, Kali Uchis teased a KAYTRANDA remix of ‘Young Rich & In Love’ – a song from her January 2024 album ‘Orquídeas‘. The track is expected to appear on the singer’s next release, ‘Orquídeas part 2’.