I’m not nostalgic – I’m a ‘next’ girl...
‘Queen of Funk’ Chaka Khan talks to NAOMI CLARKE about her long career in music and shares advice for young artists
IF you are ever in a rut, a surefire way to get back in the groove is to cue up a string of Chaka Khan’s empowering anthems.
Her powerful vocals have enlivened many dancefloors, garnered her a legion of fans and earned her the title of the “Queen of Funk”.
The US singing superstar first rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the American funk band Rufus, before she began to forge a successful career as a solo artist.
It was a wise move as her debut solo single from her 1978 self-titled studio album was the R&B charttopper I’m Every Woman, which captured the world’s attention and landed her a Grammy nomination.
She supercharged her stardom a few years later with the platinumselling single Ain’t Nobody, which she released with Rufus.
While the group dissolved in 1983, Chaka carved out her own path, releasing a host of solo studio albums over the years which have branched across many genres including pop, R&B, hip hop, jazz, gospel, country and dance.
Over her five-decade career she has also worked with some of the world’s most influential artists including Prince, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder and Mary J. Blige, secured 10 Grammy awards and been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Now as she celebrates 50 years in the industry, Chaka, 71, shows no signs of slowing down.
“I’m not nostalgic really, I’m a ‘next’ girl,” she chuckles over a video call. “I don’t live in the past, I don’t remember a lot. I mean, it’s a good thing, too, I think.
“The only thing I am really interested in is what’s happening in the moment. That’s all we own... this moment right now, and what’s going to happen next, how it’s going to affect what I do next, or what happens to me next.”
She feels this forward-thinking attitude has helped propel her career as she does not waste energy on things beyond her control.
“I can do nothing about what happened yesterday but I can have some influence as to what is happening right now and how it may affect tomorrow,” she adds.
Among her plans for this year, Chaka is following in the footsteps of musical titans like David Bowie and Nile Rodgers by curating Southbank Centre’s Meltdown, the UK’s longest-running artist-curated music festival.
It will feature dozens of concerts across ten days in June, with Chaka opening and closing the event with performances at the Royal Festival Hall.
The singer had been rumoured for the coveted Glastonbury legends slot in the same month, which has now been filled by country superstar Shania Twain.
Chaka, real name Yvette Stevens, says she believes the music festival approached her about the slot but she had not given an answer because she was being “really focused” on Meltdown. However, she keeps hopes alive that she may one day take to the Pyramid Stage as she reveals she “would love” to perform at the festival.
During her three-month stint in the UK this summer, she will also squeeze in appearances at Cambridge Club Festival, Nocturne Live series at Blenheim Palace and Love Supreme Jazz Festival.
Her trip across the pond also marks a return to the country she previously called home, as she had a house in north London for about 30 years. She has also lived in Germany, Switzerland and cities throughout America.
And while she has achieved many impressive feats in her life, Chicago-born Chaka believes her great achievement has been leaving city life behind to move to live in the US state of Georgia with her family.
“Getting out of the city, leaving LA – that’s the best thing, the biggest investing I’ve done, period,” she says.
“I’m communing with nature. I’ve got all of this beautiful land and a lake. I truly get to rest here, I truly get silence. This sustains me. She adds: “I’ve got my family out here with me and it’s lovely – my mother and my sisters and my nephews.”
Finding peace and staying true to herself is a central focus for Chaka at this stage in her life, but she recognises this can be a difficult thing for younger people in a fast-paced, technology-fuelled world.
An area she feels has been particularly hit is the business side of the music industry, which she thinks has taken a “horrific, horrendous and wrong” shift.
“This whole thing of us competing with one another, there is no competition in self-expression, and that is something it appears these labels and these bigger businesses count on... that we stay competitive,” she laments.
“Which is stupid because selfexpression is unique to the individual, how can you compete there? There is no competition.”
While she likes to have her finger on the pulse by working with rising female artists such as US R&B star H.E.R. and Australian singer Sia, Chaka admits she doesn’t listen to much music outside work as she gets enough of it from her day job.
So what does she advise young artists who are coming up?
“Honesty is the best policy, even if it hurts,” she says, evidently speaking from experience.
“And especially if it hurts... that means it’s probably meaningful.
“But to remain honest is the best thing you could do for yourself and everyone around you.”
It is these pearls of wisdom that she is eager to pass on to younger generations.
“I’ve got lots of advice,” she says. “That’s one of the reasons that people grow to be old and that is because we have a lot of wisdom to impart to younger people. That is our main gig, I believe.
“So I’ve been doing a lot of that. I go to schools, I speak to kids whenever humanly possible and interact with children.
“I’m looking to start doing some podcasts for kids.”
She adds: “I love the direction in which we are going – focusing on young people – because that is our future and their future so I think we really owe them a great deal of time, energy and respect.”
Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festival, curated by Chaka Khan, will run from June 14 to June 23.