Chaka Khan has revealed that she allowed Kanye West to sample her track 'Through The Fire' because it helped him recover from a serious accident.

West was launched on to his current stratospheric path by his song 'Through The Wire' which used part of Khan's original song.

Khan told Gigwise: “He called me and asked me if he could use the song because he had been in an amazing accident and my song helped him to recover.

“So how could I say no? That was my primary reason for agreeing to it.”

However, Khan was surprised by the results when she heard the final cut of the track.

She adds: Of course I didn’t expect him to speed it up and make me sound like a chipmunk.

“It wasn’t until later I found out that his trademark was in fact speeding up older records and using them on his tracks.”

“I’m just glad I was of some assistance in helping him get better.”