Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, received no money from “Through the Wire," and David Foster has explained why.
The Grammy-winning songwriter addressed the topic during the Jan. 14 episode of the podcast And The Writer Is…, telling the story of why Ye was denied a publishing share of his 2003 debut single.
The song, which appeared on Ye’s 2004 album The College Dropout, heavily sampled Chaka Khan's 1985 record "Through the Fire,” which was co-written by Foster, Tom Keane, and Cynthia Weil.
“You have the sample that defines [Ye’s] career,” podcast host Ross Golan told Foster. “‘Through the Wire’ is presumably the biggest sample of your catalog.”
“Yeah, it was massive. It felt great. A free round two,” Foster said. “Funny story about that. I wrote that song with my friend Tom Keane, and the lyrics were done by Cynthia Weil ... And when Kanye’s camp is like, 'Hey, we want to use your song all the way through this record, and he wants 50 percent of the writing,' or whatever. I was like, 'OK.'"
Foster said he was willing to grant Ye the request because he knew the rapper was “getting really huge" at the time.
“I would’ve given it to him, would’ve given him half,” Foster said.
However, Foster said that co-writer Weil objected to the move, and insisted she, Foster, and Keane remain the only credited writers.
“Cynthia was like, ‘Fuck that. No, he gets nothing,’” Foster recalled. “So he got nothing. We still remain the 100 percent writers. Ain't that something?”
Foster said Weil’s decision was “bold,” considering Ye produced the “Through the Wire” backing track and wrote the rap verses. The "Heartless" artist purportedly recorded the song while recovering from the 2002 car accident that required his jaw to be wired shut.
It’s unclear how much Ye would’ve earned from the song’s publishing shares, but it’s safe to assume it was a hefty sum. “Through the Wire” is a platinum-certified hit that peaked at No. 15 and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, respectively.
“Through the Wire” was also a point of contention between Ye and Chaka Khan. The singer said she was initially unhappy with Ye because he sped up her vocals on the track. Khan has since expressed regret over the beef, admitting her reaction was unwarranted.
“That was my fault, too, for feeling salty about that in any way,” she told Rolling Stone in 2023. “Because if I understood the rap game more completely, like I do now, then that wouldn’t have been a big deal to me… I’m done. Please. I’m not hanging on to any silly grudges.”