Why LOVE still rules
little more than 30 years ago, a young, dreadlocked rocker named Lenny Kravitz announced his arrival in the form of a video for his tune, ‘Let Love Rule’, from his debut album of the same name. Directed by his then-partner Lisa Bonet, the clip – with its warm psychedelic colours and ’60s hippie vibe – saw Kravitz imploring us to do exactly as the title of the song says.
It was a simple message – and one that still resonates for Kravitz.
“From that time to now, I’ve stayed on my course,” the 55-year-old musician says from his home in Paris. “My purpose is to represent love through the medium of music. It’s what I’ve done. I haven’t come off course and I will not.”
Love is in the title of his world tour ‘Here to Love’, which is also the name of his latest song. And Kravitz’s love directive is being heard in important places, with the song being used by the United Nations as part of a global anti-racism campaign. While he’s proud his song was chosen by the UN, Kravitz is disappointed such a campaign should exist at all.
“It’s very sad we’re still dealing with this [racism], globally,” the rock star tells WHO. “People just haven’t learnt that we are all one. We’re all brothers and sisters and we are here to love each other, help each other and to inspire each other. That our differences are a gift. They’re what make us interesting to each other. If we had to stare at people that were exactly like ourselves all day long, it would be boring. It would be uninspiring.”
Born to an African-American mother (actress Roxie Roker, who starred in the US sitcom The Jeffersons) and a Jewish father (Sy Kravitz), the muso admits he has experienced racism throughout his life. “Our differences are beautiful. We have to learn to respect that,” the ‘Believe’ singer pleads. “We’ve come so far. We’re so smart and evolved, and have done so much as a species, but we have not yet figured that out. But all of us that know better will continue to represent what it is we know is right.”
Kravitz has built a career on songs that sway from soulful tunes such as ‘It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over’ to rock anthems including ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ and ‘Always On the Run’. The latter was written and recorded with Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash in one morning in New York, when Slash had just come off a Concorde flight from London.
“He came with the riff and we started jamming on it,” Kravitz says. “I wrote some changes and put the melody and the words to it and we recorded it together. He was playing guitar, I played drums and then I came and overdubbed bass and my guitar and did vocals and put the horns on. It was a great moment.”
And the song itself – with its first line, ‘My mama said life is a gift” – was obviously very personal for Kravitz. “That was a time when I was moving extremely fast and wasn’t necessarily taking the time to look at certain things I should have, and I was thinking about my mother’s advice to me,” he says.
Kravitz had the chance to impart his own words of wisdom to his daughter (with ex-wife Bonet), actress Zoë Kravitz, last year at her wedding to Karl Glusman. His speech was so good it moved Zoë to tears. “I can’t tell you what I said as in I was really in the
“It was one of the greatest moments of my life” THE ROCKER ON FIGHTING RACISM AND GIVING FATHERLY ADVICE