Aretha Franklin, Queen of R&Beef

“First it was Buddens, then it was bleak, now it’s whoever,” those were the lyrics from The Game as he rapped his numerous beefs. The Game will beef with anyone. But you know who else will? Aretha Franklin.

Aretha Franklin is a powerhouse in R&B, but she’s got a list of beef as long as her list of hits. Recently, Babyface, which caused Maxwell to catch a stray, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Natalie Cole, and she once walked past Gladdys Knight at The Grammys and completely ignored Gladdys greeting her. The late Whitney Houston wasn’t spared, even in death. But the first and most lasting beef, is with Dionne Warrick.  

Dionne and Aretha were blowing up at the same time. Dionne did absolutely nothing but have a few hits. Aretha needed to make sure Dionne knew Aretha was the top act. To send a message, she did a cover of Dionne’s song “I Say a Little Prayer,” the year after Dionne’s version dropped. Adding insult to injury, she had Dionne’s aunt Cissey Houston singing backup. For no reason other than she could. Dionne has tried to play nice, but Aretha never misses a chance to take a shot at Dionne. Even after Dionne’s cousin, Whitney Houston, died.  

T.I. once said, “I don’t know what you do for your respect, but I’mma die for mine.” Clearly Aretha feels the same.