We were both fans, but the way it just happened was the wrong way and I just felt I had to make a stand for what I believed in musically. Oh absolutely, I think theyвЂ™re wonderful musicians. How do you feel about The FugeeвЂ™s вЂњReady or Not?вЂќ Many regard that to be a classic. So we just said вЂњyesвЂќ because we felt that it worked. Very very different rendering to The FugeeвЂ™s вЂњReady or Not,вЂќ and a great singer as well. Immediately we said вЂњsend the songвЂќ and it was a great song. He phoned the studio we were working in and Nicky took the call and he just said he had this fantastic singer that he was working with and it was Mario Winans. ThatвЂ™s part of the reason you gave the sampling rights to Diddy for вЂњI DonвЂ™t Wanna Know,вЂќ he approached you in such a polite way. IвЂ™m not closed about people sampling the music, far from it, thereвЂ™s a lot of my music thatвЂ™s been sampled, but I just feel itвЂ™s right to approach the artist. There are a lot of songs that IвЂ™ve been happy for them to sample because youвЂ™re right, it is introducing the music to another generation, but it also sounds good. If an artist is going to sample a piece of music, then you get to hear it, thatвЂ™s whatвЂ™s important to me. But in that regard, you just have to make sure you go through the right process. I do agree musically that if they compliment each other, thatвЂ™s what happens. I would never have listened to The Gap Band or Funkadelic without Snoop. Snoop Dogg drew me into the whole genre of funk as well as soul through use of samples. I believe that by sampling, theyвЂ™re giving music a new lease on life. By all meansвЂ¦ if you want to sample a piece, but come forward, letвЂ™s hear the song and if weвЂ™re happy to go ahead we will absolutely approve. So myself, Nicky and Roma felt it was very important to stand up in that regard to how we felt about sampling. It was a case of, I wasnвЂ™t featured at all on the credits and it was very much a part of the song. At the beginning, with The Fugees, we were actually on the verge of suing them because of the copyright infringement, because they just didnвЂ™t approach us. We had to, in some way feel a link between what the song was about and the original song that we had written. It has to be something of a melody by a singer that we really sort of enjoy the version of whatever theyвЂ™ve sampled. Firstly, theyвЂ™d be listening out for anything thatвЂ™s obscene. So they would get all of these requests in and they would listen. I work with Nicky and Roma, theyвЂ™re really part of the team that have been there from the beginning. ItвЂ™s still very much the same on sampling. IвЂ™m interested to hear your thoughts on sampling and if theyвЂ™ve changed over the years. He walked up and spoke to me and said, вЂњI finally get to meet Enya,вЂќ and IвЂ™m talking to Paul McCartney from The Beatles! It was just a wonderful moment. We were performing together, at that year, our songs. I suppose the ultimate was Paul McCartney at the Oscars. Who else has surprised you by being a fan? If we talk about whatвЂ™s happening now with вЂњBoadicea,вЂќ it has a great influence musically for a lot of people as did songs from some of my other albums and I feel that to me, personally, thatвЂ™s a great compliment. I was told that, um yes, to me itвЂ™s a great compliment to be inspirational to other artists. Nicki Minaj said her latest album The Pinkprint was influenced by you. I also partly understood the magnetism some feel EnyaвЂ™s voice does have a certain hold. Also on the cards was Nicki Minaj and Paul McCartney being fans, her favorite material purchase and turning down composing for Titanic. Enya told the stories behind Diddy and The Fugees sampling вЂњBoadicea,вЂќ a track that 30 years later remains popular with producers. The interview was a bit like a phone call with my mom, who was very excited about our chat, by the way. Brennan was sweet, friendly and had a sense of humor. To the disappointment of Enya-hive, she didnвЂ™t remind me of a human wind chime. Our conversation left me inspired by how Enya dedicated her life to creating and refused to let fame taint any part of it. Along with producer Nicky Ryan and his wife Roma as lyricist, the threesome has controlled every element of her career since 1982. As an act, Enya actually operates as a trio, and theyвЂ™ve never collaborated with outsiders. Born one of nine children, Enya Patricia Brennan spent her rural Irish upbringing learning music and plays the majority of instruments on her albums. However, the further I dug, the more intriguing she seemed. When asked to speak with Enya, my initial instinct was that her music wasnвЂ™t my style.

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