![Array]](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1779850244_Array.svg.svg+xml "“It's not just about the money – I just wanted my name on there because it was my work and somebody else took the credit”: Rogét Chahayed on signing away his contributions to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly for \"a few thousand bucks\" 18"){kind=small}
Before making the leap from classical piano to hip-hop production, Grammy-nominated songwriter Rogét Chahayed found his way into Dr Dre’s orbit, where long days in the studio taught him to think less like a virtuoso and more like a hit-maker.
Chahayed’s apprenticeship with Dre would eventually lead to credits on some of the biggest songs of the past decade, from Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode to Drake’s recent chart-topper Janice STFU.
Long before those successes, however, Chahayed experienced the harsh reality of the music business while working on sessions intended for Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly LP.
Having unwittingly signed away his publishing rights, he ultimately saw his contributions released without receiving an official credit. More than a decade later, Chahayed reminisces on how the experience shaped both his career and his view of an industry that, despite its continual evolutions, still operates like the “Wild West”.
The story began during a break from working with Dre, when Chahayed found himself bouncing between studios across Los Angeles in search of his next project. “The Kendrick Lamar album was something I worked on, but didn’t know I was working on because I wasn’t credited.
“Around the time I was working with Dre, there was a break period where I was going to studios trying to find different opportunities and ended up working with a producer in LA who was really connected to music and fashion. Anyone who knew anyone was saying, ‘Oh, you got to go work with this guy; he’s always doing cool stuff.’
“So we’re in there making beats, which were supposed to be for Kendrick, and had a crazy time discovering all these insane samples and playing them over very strange acid jazz-type things, but we didn’t understand publishing and signed away our rights to get some cash. We thought, just give us a few thousand bucks each and if we do this every week we’ll be rich. Then about a year and a half later, To Pimp a Butterfly came out and sure enough two of our songs were on there.”
Looking back, Chahayed describes his involvement with Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly as an early lesson in how unforgiving the music business can be. “I love speaking about this situation, because it’s a great lesson for people who want to get into the music business. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who still operate with the old mindset and rules whereby if a guy plays keys, just pay him 50 bucks and get him out of there.
“I did a podcast recently and a lot of people were bashing me because I said I’d got robbed even though it was my choice to sign the paperwork. It’s not just about the money – I don’t care about that or the publishing, I just wanted my name on there because it was my work and my contribution. I never pursued any kind of legal action – I just kept my head down and a lot of blessings came out of that, honestly.”
On apportioning blame, Chahayed continues: “I definitely don’t blame Kendrick because, for the most part, artists are unaware of most of the things that are going on. I blame the system and whoever was in charge of executive producing the album, because somebody else took credit for my keyboards on those two songs and my friend’s guitar work.”
They say Los Angeles is a small town disguised as a big city, and Chahayed would eventually come face-to-face with the person he says took credit for his work during a chance encounter at Guitar Center.
“I approached him very cool, told him which studio I’d worked at and who with, and just said: ‘You know I worked on those songs.’ It was kind of awkward, but at the end of the day no one cares about the full story. In those situations, there’s not much you can do except keep working and find your way back.”
More than a decade on from the experience, Chahayed believes the industry has changed in many ways – but when it comes to getting recognised for your work, the same issues remain.
“As far as the music business goes, unfortunately, you have to do a lot to get the respect of others and people won’t even look at you until you’ve had a big song. You’ve got to keep proving yourself, putting numbers in the charts and maintain that success. It’s like a battle!
“Even today, certain people won’t respond or get back to me about business, and if I don’t remind anybody I won’t get paid. It’s still very much like the Wild West, so the most important aspect of my career was to find friends and people I know I can trust to call into a project.”
Despite the disappointment, Chahayed insists the experience ultimately opened more doors than it closed. “The situation helped me a lot, because I ended up meeting my manager after posting about my work on the album.
“Greg Katz loved the work I was doing and introduced me to people like Imad Royal, who’s an incredible producer that brought me into Shangri-La Studios to work with DRAM. A few weeks later we made the track Broccoli and I let life do its thing.”
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