James Blake has quietly asked that his name be removed from the production credits of “This One Here,” a song on Kanye West’s surprise-released album Bully. In a short but pointed message posted to Vault.fm, the British singer-producer said the version fans are streaming is “a completely different production in spirit” from the track he and West originally built together.
Why Blake Wants Out of the Credits
According to Blake, the finished song retains only fragments of his fingerprints: a pitched-up vocal snippet here, a bit of drum programming there. “The way I pitched his vocals and constructed the track from his freestyle is partially there,” Blake wrote, “majorly peppered with other newer vocal takes.” That incremental drift, he argues, is enough to make the final cut feel like someone else’s vision rather than the one he signed off on.
“Happy for the fans,” Blake added, “but I’ve asked to be taken off the producer credits for now, as I don’t want to take credit for other people’s work.” The request is less a public feud than a matter of professional pride: if the music no longer reflects the choices he made, he would rather not be associated with it.
From Freestyle to Finished Track—What Changed?
Multiple sources close to the sessions tell InfluencersWiki that West recorded a raw freestyle over Blake’s minimal piano loop in late 2022. At that stage the beat was spacious, almost ambient, with Blake’s trademark sub-bass swells and chopped vocal fragments. Over the next year, however, West continued to tinker, adding layers of gospel-style choirs, 808 slides, and a new bridge section recorded with a different engineer. By the time Bully arrived on March 27, the song had ballooned from a skeletal sketch into a maximalist, arena-sized track.
Blake says he was not in the room for those later sessions and only heard the final version when the album dropped. “I just hit a point where I don’t want to be credited on music where I can’t affect the end result,” he explained.
A Once-Close Partnership That Cooled
The two artists first bonded in 2015 while working on material for The Life of Pablo. Blake flew to Mexico to play keyboards on early versions of “Wolves” and later contributed to West’s Sunday Service rehearsals. They were photographed together at Calabasas studios and even teased a joint EP that never materialized.
By 2023 the relationship had frayed. Asked by Variety whether he still spoke to West, Blake replied, “We haven’t seen each other for a little while. I think it’s probably a no-comment from me,” adding, “I say that with sadness.” Insiders link the distance to West’s string of antisemitic remarks that led to his suspension from Instagram and Twitter, as well as the loss of several brand partnerships.
How Album Credits Are Changed After Release
Removing a producer credit post-release is unusual but not impossible. Here is the typical chain of events:
- The artist or producer submits a written request to the label’s business-affairs department.
- Label attorneys review contracts to confirm the credit can be altered without breaching producer agreements.
- Updated metadata is delivered to streaming services; new physical pressings are held until changes are implemented.
- Performance-rights organizations such as ASCAP or BMI update their databases so future royalty statements reflect the new split.
As of press time, Columbia Records has not responded to a request for comment, and West’s legal team has not confirmed whether Blake’s name will be removed from future pressings of Bully.
What This Says About Artistic Control in 2025
Blake’s public stance highlights a growing tension in modern music: when songs can be endlessly revised even after they hit DSPs, at what point does a collaborator’s contribution become unrecognizable? Veteran entertainment lawyer Erin Scapelliti notes that more producers are now inserting “no alteration without approval” clauses into their contracts. “The technology makes it easy to swap stems weeks before release,” she says. “Creatives want to protect their brand from being attached to something they didn’t authorize.”
Blake is hardly the first to request a credit removal—Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood successfully had his name taken off an early version of a film score in 2021—but the high-profile nature of a Kanye West release amplifies the debate.
Bottom Line
For now, “This One Here” still lists James Blake as a co-producer on Spotify and Tidal. Whether that changes depends on lawyers, metadata teams, and West’s willingness to honor a colleague’s request. Blake, meanwhile, is back in the studio working on his fifth album, promising fans “music that won’t be touched by committee.”
FAQ
Has Kanye West responded to Blake’s request?
No public statement has been released by West or his representatives.
Will Blake lose royalties if his name is removed?
Possibly. Producer royalties are tied to credit, but Blake has indicated
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