Mixing up

When it comes to The Beatles I am a fanatic. Even more so, I am a Paul McCartney lover. Seeing him at Coachella last spring was the most significant moment in my musical life. The man is built up of pure genius when it comes to making music. This is probably why Erykah Badu had the brilliant idea to use a sample from McCartney's song "Arrow Through Me" for her forthcoming LP, "New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh."
 The way in which Badu received clearance to use this sample was through Twitter. Badu tweeted, "If I can talk to PAUL MCCARTNEY I can get the sample cleared .. have less than 24 hours or song wont make album . help . it will happen!!" The tweets went through a number of people, ultimately crediting Lenny Kravitz and fashion designer and daughter of McCartney, Stella. Pitchfork is claiming this act "the first major Twitter-based sample clearance ever. Amazing."
 So, if Pitchfork said it then I guess it is a valid accomplishment. Not having to jump through hoops, wheeling and dealing with sleaze-ball managers, is a reasonable way to go about receiving approval. Truthfully, this seems like Badu procrastinated and by the sound of her tweet, practically begged McCartney to let her use his creation so she could benefit from his hard work.
 In McCartney's defense, I think he could care less about who uses his tracks to their own advantage and I'm not about to get into the whole selling-out concept. It does not bother me that Badu will most likely profit off of McCartney's work. What bothers me is that Badu and any other artist that samples songs feel that their own work is not good enough, therefore they have to embed the greats into their work and tweak the track to give it a sense of creativity. Yeah it might be a difficult task, but what is more difficult is creating something from the soul. Is that a valid speculation for me to make?
 Now, I am not a musical genius. If you ever see me on the piano in the UC, I am most likely playing "Let It Be" and it is an amusing time. However, I accept that I am not very good at what I attempt to do. I sure as hell never play a song I did not write and expect people to see me as an artist.
 If Badu and other artists were awesome at what they attempt to do, then they probably would have the musical capabilities to make their own beats instead of looping guitar riffs and bass lines to give their songs the extra proficiency it lacked while standing alone. I don't have anything against Badu or other artists who engage in this type of music making. From what I have heard, Badu has a beautiful voice. The only thing is anyone who feels the need to use other artists' work are just discrediting themselves as valid innovative musicians. Do your own work, kids. It's still cheating, even if it's in quotes.