Chaka Khan isn’t a fan of Auto-Tune.
The Grammy-winning singer explained her position during Monday night’s Angie Ball at Cipriani Wall Street, where she performed hits like “I’m Every Woman” and “Tell Me Something Good.” During the charity event, Khan spoke to entertainment reporter and Page Six writer Tashara Jones about the current landscape of music, and how certain artists were simply too reliant on auto-tune—so much so, they should consider getting a new job.
“There is some great stuff out there and there are some great artists. There’s some very fine young artists out there doing great great work that I am impressed with,” she told the outlet. “But the others, they just need to get them a job at the Post Office — they are always hiring! People are using Auto-tune. They need to get to the Post Office quick.”
This isn’t the first time Khan has criticized digitally altered vocals. While speaking to Good Day DC this year, the singer addressed Kanye West’s 2003 single “Through the Wire,” which sampled her 1985 record “Through the Fire.” Khan told the host she was upset that West changed her voice to “sound like a chipmunk,” and would’ve never cleared the sample had she known about the alterations.
“[Kanye] didn’t mention that he was gonna speed it up, you know, three times its normal speed,” she said. “Had he, I would’ve had something to say. But since I didn’t think of that, believe me, I think of it now. I ask, ‘How are we gonna do this?’”
She continued: “It was a little insulting. Not insulting—I thought it was stupid. If I’d known he was gonna do that, I would have said, ‘Hell no.’”