Baker told fans that she had regained control of her masters back in September.
Anita Baker sent a special shoutout to Chance the Rapper at a recent performance for a very sweet reason.
In a clip shared on Twitter, the legendary singer took a moment during her show to ask her audience to "say hello" to Chance -- whose real name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett -- and shared that the Chicago-born rapper helped her acquire her masters.
"You should say hello to a friend of mine by way of the music industry and by way of helping me, helping me to get a hold and ownership of my master recordings," Baker said while pointing to Chance in the audience. The 29-year-old musician stood up in the crowd as everyone clapped.
The 64-year-old singer spent much of last year locked in battle with her former label Elektra for control of her masters, telling her fans not to stream her music until everything was sorted out.
In a March 2021 tweet, Baker told her followers and fans that she had "miraculously outlived all her artists contracts" and the record company, by law, was to give the ownership of her masters back to her after so many years. But the singer wrote that the company seemingly refused to abide by said law, alleging that they were going to "make her fight for them" -- and she was prepared to do whatever it takes.
Then last September, she revealed that her first five studio albums -- 1983's The Songstress, 1986's Rapture, 1988's Giving You The Best That I Got, 1990's Compositions and 1994's Rhythm of Love -- were "Coming Home."
The singer didn't specify how or what Chance did to help, but obviously the two have formed a bond during the process.
On Sunday, the rapper showed his appreciation for Baker by responding to the video, tweeting, "I saw one of THE greatest performances of my LIFETIME last night! Thank you so much @IAMANITABAKER for being an inspiration and an icon to so many of US."
Baker responded, calling Chance's appearance at her performance a "nice surprise" and sent a birthday wish to his friend. The rapper replied, "the fact that you remembered my friends name AND that it was her birthday just echoes what an INCREDIBLE PERSON you are on top of all that you’ve given artistically. Honored and blessed to call you friend miss."
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