Singer-songwriter Chaka Khan, 61, has recorded 22 albums and won 10 Grammys. Born Yvette Stevens, she adopted the name Chaka, meaning fire, when she was a member of the Black Panthers in the late Sixties. Married twice, she has two children and lives in Los Angeles with her 13-year-old granddaughter.
If you have a weapon, you’re going to use it. I carried a gun for a bit and it made me sick. It made me physically ill. I was on the way to ulcers with worry. I took it and threw it in Botany Pond over at Chicago University and decided there’s another way to deal with the world.
I believe women are superior. In almost every way. That’s the only reason I’m alone.
I’m a humble-natured person. The first time I had my name in lights, my dad said to me, “Yvette, remember to always stay humble.” I think it was the way he said it, the circumstances it happened in; it’s become a landmark in my life.
People think I’m mean because I’m honest. I just can’t tell a lie. It’s been a problem, but it’s the way I am.
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I had to grow into I’m Every Woman. I felt really out of place when I first recorded it, but I’ve just in the past ten years felt comfortable singing “I’m. Every. Woman.” That’s big.
Having kids changed the dynamic with my mother. I didn’t have a good relationship with her until I grew up. You see what motherhood’s all about. And the ones who are forgiving enough or who haven’t been damaged a great deal come together with their mums in understanding.
The Beatles’ Abbey Road was our theme album. I used to wake up every morning to Here Comes the Sun before I got ready for school.
That first voice that pops up all the time … listen to it. The way I dealt with my drug addiction was to go into rehab. There was something inside saying, “You need to get a handle on this.”
My dad’s philosophy was: “I’d rather you smoke weed here with me than somewhere where you can get taken advantage of. Because you’re gonna try it anyway.” I was about 15 when I went to live with my dad and his wife Connie, my stepmum. But he was right. My friends had even graduated to dropping acid and he said, “Look, if you’re going to experiment with it, please just let me know.” You can see how that makes sense but, on the other hand, it’s cuckoo.
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Women are in touch and open to expressing themselves in a way that men find hard to do.
The Panthers had a very sound ideology. It was not turn the other cheek – I thought it was ludicrous to turn the other cheek – and it wasn’t one of violence either. It was fundamentally about just be prepared to defend yourself.
In most countries, racism is alive and well. When I travel around the world, I feel it. Absolutely.
It can be ugly if you don’t have your ducks in a row. If you’re not good with money, things can get out of hand. I’ve never been really good at it.
A lot of babies have been made to my music.
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I hate money. I’ve seen the way it changes people. I’ve seen families, the death of a famous person, I’ve seen them go to blows over what’s left of the estate. Most murders and most of the negative stuff are done in the name of money.
Every child at first is drawn to the magic of music, but I’d much rather see them get a law degree before they went into music. All you can do is pray that your kids will pick the thing that rings their bell. That either makes them the angriest or the happiest.