Out of all the RENAISSANCE discourse that has arisen— from the controversy over the Kelis sample to the ableist slur in "HEATED" — Diane Warren weirdly shading Beyoncé over the number of songwriters on a given track is really not it.
Having penned tracks like “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” “If I Could Turn Back Time,” and “Because You Loved Me," the seasoned singer-songwriter took Twitter Monday to wonder aloud “How can there be 24 writers on a song?” seeming to allude to the 24 people credited on Beyoncé's freshly released "Alien Superstar." Warren then followed that up with a since-deleted reply “that’s 23 more than on mine” appearing to take sort of a jab at the pop star which naturally invoked the wrath of Bey Hive.
Seeing the rising tide of backlash coming, Warren tried to stem the flow with a followup, “this isn't meant as shade, I'm just curious,” but the damage had already been done. One of the major collaborators on RENAISSANCE, producer The-Dream, decided to take this as a teaching moment, writing "You mean how’s does our (Black) culture have so many writers, well it started because we couldn’t afford certain things starting out, so we started sampling and it became an Artform, a major part of the Black Culture (hip hop) in America. Had that era not happen who knows. U good?”
\u201cThis isn't meant as shade, I'm just curious\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201cOk, it's prob samples that add up the ammount of writerrs\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@Diane_Warren You mean how\u2019s does our (Black) culture have so many writers, well it started because we couldn\u2019t afford certain things starting out,so we started sampling and it became an Artform, a major part of the Black Culture (hip hop) in America.Had that era not happen who knows. U good?\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
The-Dream went on add "Btw I know it’s not a one on one writing contest you looking for from no one over here…… you don’t want that smoke And you know I love you, but come on. Stop acting like your records haven’t been sampled 👀😂🚀.” Having seen the error of her ways, Warren replied "I didn't mean that as an attack or as disrespect. I didn't know this, thank U for making me aware of it. No need to be mean about it.”
\u201c@Diane_Warren Btw I know it\u2019s not a one on one writing contest you looking for from no one over here\u2026\u2026 you don\u2019t want that smoke And you know I love you, but come on. Stop acting like your records haven\u2019t been sampled \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude80\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
\u201c@TheKingDream I didn't mean that as an attack or as disrespect. I didn't know this, thank U for making me aware of it. No need to be mean about it.\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659368437
This would go on to be followed by a more formal mea culpa by Warren, “Ok, I meant no disrespect to @Beyonce, who I've worked with and admire. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.” The-Dream went on to tell Warren that they were all good but it's not conducive to the younger generation of writers, producers and artists to make judgements on one way of making art versus the next because it can discourage those that might not be as fortunate from contributing.
\u201cOk, I meant no disrespect to @Beyonce, who I've worked with and admire. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding\u201d— Diane Warren (@Diane Warren) 1659391456
\u201c@Diane_Warren All G. But don\u2019t do that, it\u2019s young writers, producers and artist that need to know whatever way they make it and however they contribute is worth it. We all aren\u2019t as fortunate at first. Every idea is art. It\u2019s more fun together,in my opinion and I could be wrong\u201d— MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM (@MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM) 1659394866
Ultimately, The-Dream went on to reset the vibes, tweeting “It’s about Art, not one artist or writer me or them. With all due respect and love for those who came before and will come after. Im truly Sorry if I disturbed the force today that’s not my purpose," adding, “ITS ALWAYS ALL LOVE. ALWAYS. Ok now flip the slander back to me and let’s get back to some normalcy. 😂”
\u201cIt\u2019s about Art, not one artist or writer me or them. With all due respect and love for those who came before and will come after. Im truly Sorry if I disturbed the force today that\u2019s not my purpose. Peace\u201d— MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM (@MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM) 1659395253
\u201cITS ALWAYS ALL LOVE. ALWAYS. Ok now flip the slander back to me and let\u2019s get back to some normalcy. \ud83d\ude02\u201d— MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM (@MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM) 1659397097
Photo via Getty/ Matt Sayles/ A.M.P.A.S