Despite all the sampling drama that Beyonce found herself in following the release of her new album “Renaissance,” TS Madison couldn’t have been happier for Queen B to have drawn inspiration from her 2020 YouTube video titled “B**ch, I’m Black.” For those who have heard the album, Madison is featured on the fan-favorite track “Cozy,” a feel-good song all about pride and being confident in your own skin.
In a recent interview with Essence, Madison explained how the opportunity to be featured on the album had first come about while also getting candid about being compensated a substantial amount to clear the sample. “I received an email from a record label. I don’t remember it saying Parkwood. But it just said ‘Madison, this is a powerful piece that you did on YouTube and we’re interested in sampling fragments of your voice for a record.’ I was like ‘Okay, well how much you got?’ So we figured it out so I still owned the rights.”
TS Madison Talks Being Sampled On Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance’
Wow thank you @Essence ❤️ for interviewing me💗 you’re great @MikelleStreet for taking this opportunity to celebrate my Queer blackness and accomplishments in the right place https://t.co/Hw0pELYR2F
— Ts Madison (@TsMadisonatl1) August 19, 2022
Upon sitting down to go through the emails sent by Parkwood, Madison’s manager, Leggra, acquired the offer Bey and the label were looking to make to sample the YouTube video — and judging by her words, the “Heated” singer was willing to pay big bucks. “It was like a number and then zero, zero, zero, zero, zero. Then, not only were there all these zeros but it said percent of streaming and a percent of pure sales. I was like, ‘OH, THIS BEYONCÉ!’”
“When you listen to those lyrics, you know she really sat and watched the whole video. So much of the lyrics, so much of the things she is talking about…if you know anything about my life and my story you know it runs parallel.”
Madison also gave a shout-out to Hollywood Unlocked as she recalled a previous interview she did with us, talking about how she’s very confident in her own skin and never shies away from being her true self. During her chat with Essence, she said she found it “frightening” to, years later, be included on a track with Beyonce that’s all about self-confidence and embracing every part about you.
Beyoncé paid Ts Madison “a number, and then a zero, zero, zero, zero, zero” for her sample on Cozy AND included a portion of streaming and sales royalties IN PERPETUITY.
She always gives credit and always gives back. Mother just gets it. https://t.co/12m2VahhE6 pic.twitter.com/uGQdMm25B4
— drake (@beygency) August 19, 2022
“There’s a section where she’s describing the inclusive Pride flag. There’s a clip of me in an interview on Hollywood Unlocked from years ago where the similarities in what we’re saying is frightening.”
“Renaissance” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 200, becoming Bey’s seventh consecutive album to achieve this accolade. It also became the first album released by a woman in 2022 to top the chart.