O.T. Genasis released his own version of Keyshia Cole’s hit “Never Knew” to YouTube. Shortly after it was released the video was taken down. Many people have speculated that the reason for the take-down was simple, Keyshia Cole didn’t want it out there.
Cole, who’s popular song, “You’ve Changed” is a sort of remake of Jay-Z’s “Song Cry“, has been clear about how she feels about Genasis taking her melody and turning it into a song that is centered around crip themes. She kept it real about her music and getting paid during a segment on her show, One on One with Keyshia Cole:
“I’m smooth sailing, I’m good, I got my family. Gettin’ my mom right, everything like that. I’m okay, but I’m really trying to get back to my music. So I would like my classics to be left alone. Is that wrong as an artist to say? I love everybody, I mean, that sings my songs. I done had Cardi sing it, sing my songs… Bruno Mars was singing it. Trey Songz singing it in the club. But they keep my lyrics the same. How am I gon’ get paid when you makin’ new lyrics and you ain’t sent me out a check or anything like that? I don’t even know how that thing goes. And then people hitting me up sayin’ like, ‘Oh, I would never listen to Keyshia Cole’s song the same.”
Cole’s boyfriend Niko Khale also did not appreciate Genasis’ rendition, ”I think it’s kinda hurtful a little bit, too, as an artist because there was no, ‘Hey, how you doin’. How you feel about this?’ ‘Cause that’s what you do if you an artist. If I wanna remix a Prince song Imma go to Prince and figure out if I can use that. Or if I wanted to use…like how I did ‘Let It Go’ and I re-did that.”
Well, he can’t go to Prince because he’s dead so there’s that, but Genasis (who’s song can be seen as parody rather that a remake) seemed to be hurt by Cole’s comments about his completely off-tone version of “Never Knew” and posted to his Instagram account, “Damn Keyshia 😳😳😳 it’s like dat? I thought u was from da Bay ? I thought it was California love 😔 A n*gga can’t have fun no more lol.”
