Kelis Claims The Neptunes Shadily Stole Her Publishing

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Kelis Claims The Neptunes Shadily Stole Her Publishing

Kelis is sharing her truth. The “Kaleidoscope” album creating songstress recently did an interview with The Guardian where she opened on a number of topics including her isolated 24-acre farm, her family and her tenure as a black alternative artist.

Things got especially interesting however when she was asked about her time working with Virginia’s The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, and Pharrell. According to Kelis her former friends ripped her off and she didn’t make money off her first two albums.

“I was told we were going to split the whole thing 33/33/33, which we didn’t do,” said Kelis who was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by “The Neptunes and their management and their lawyers and all that stuff.”

Kelis added that she initially didn’t notice because she was making money from touring, “and just the fact that I wasn’t poor felt like enough.”

And if you’re wondering what the opposing parties think about Kelis’ claims, Kelis says they dismissed her concerns.

“Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it,’” she says. “I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it.’”

Kelis added that she saw Pharrell a few years ago at an event and he gave her a head nod.

“And he did that thing to me that he’s notorious for, which is making a nod from the stage [to someone in the audience], so it seems like there’s mutual respect, when in reality…” she says with a laugh to The Guardian.

“I’m like, OK, I’m not going to yell back: ‘You stole all my publishing!’ So you end up nodding back and everyone thinks everything’s great. Like, whatever.”

And for the record, the singer (who’s not angry about getting the short end of the stick), is NOT interested in working with her former friend again.

“Ummm, at that point there’s having faith and there is also just stupidity,” she told The Guardian about any future Pharrell dealings.

25th Anniversary ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards

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That’s not all, however, Kelis also doubled down on her claims that her ex Nas physically abused her.

Hit the flip.

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After initially coming forward in 2018 with allegations that Nas was mentally and physically abusing her during their six-year marriage, Kelis doubled down on the claims with The Guardian. Kelis admitted that she initially stayed silent on The Neptunes and her husband out of a need to protect…

“Well, I’m a very private person, and whether it’s the stuff with the Neptunes and being assaulted from a business perspective, to then being assaulted in the home, I fought so hard to have my own voice, even with the umbrella of these men looming over what I was trying to do. I’m not broken. But I don’t feel like protecting the sanctity of the black man any more.”

and two things made her “wake up” in her marriage; the infamous Chris Brown and Rihanna abuse and her pregnancy.

“The first was seeing the photos of Rihanna after Chris Brown assaulted her in 2009. “It just woke me up,” she says. The second was getting pregnant. “I thought, you know, I can endure a lot, but I’m not prepared to bring someone else into this. So I’m done.”

Whewwww, we’re glad Kelis is in a much better place these days.

The Guardian reports that during their interview at her isolated farm in California wine country, her photographer hubby Mike and their son, Shepherd, were present.