It’s been two months since Rolling Stone published its “200 Greatest Singers Of All Time” list. Soul legend Chaka Khan is still calling out all the shenanigans that resulted in her ranking at No. 29, while other singers who shouldn’t even be humming a tune while mowing her lawn were ranked higher.
OK, Chaka Khan didn’t say all that, but she is displeased, and she had some choice words for higher-ranked singers like Adele, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and others, as well as whoever is making the artist ranking decisions at Rolling Stone.
Appearing on Los Angeles Magazine’s “The Originals” podcast, Chaka Khan had some choice words about many of Rolling Stone’s selections. At one point, the 10-time Grammy winner argued that the publication’s editors “need hearing aids.”
“These are blind b*tches,” the “I’m Every Woman” singer, who is ranked No. 29 on the list, told host Andrew Goldman.
Khan took specific issue with Mariah Carey and Adele, who are ranked No. 5 and No. 22, respectively.
“That must be payola or some shit like that,” she said of Carey. Regarding Adele, she was perhaps even more dismissive, stating dryly: “OK, I quit.”
Still, Khan reserved her harshest critique for folk icon Joan Baez, who came in at No. 189. “Let’s be honest, the b*tch cannot sing,” she said of Baez. “Now, she was a good writer.”
Daaaayum, Chaka, it’s like that?
You can tell Khan is at that age where she just really doesn’t do the filter thing—if she ever did.
Notably, she acknowledged that Aretha Franklin reaching G.O.A.T. status on the list is as it “should be,” because even arguably the second greatest singer of all time won’t be offended by being listed under the Queen.
Anyway, Khan must have felt bad about going in the way she did, because on Sunday, she posted a lengthy apology to her Instagram account.
“Recently, I was asked about a list of the ‘greatest singers of all time’ and instead of questioning the need for such a list, I was pitted against other artists and I took the bait,” she wrote. “As artists, we are unfairly put into ‘boxes,’ ‘categories’ or on ‘lists.’ Being an artist or musician is not a competition. It’s a gift, for which I am truly grateful.”
“It was not my intention to cause pain or upset anyone. To anyone that felt this way, I sincerely apologize,” she added. “Empowering all artists is most important because we truly are the architects of change…and change begins within the heart.”
So, what do y’all think about Chaka Khan’s ranking on the Rolling Stone list? And is she wrong for shading the higher-ranked singers, or was she just keeping it real and calling out a great injustice? Was she right to apologize, or nah?
