The queen, the legend, Chaka Khan (Picture: Getty Images)
Chaka Khan has shared her honest thoughts about the current state of the music industry and is calling for a big change.
The I’m Every Woman hitmaker, 71, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her stellar career with two UK summer performances at the Love Supreme Jazz Festival and Nocturne Live.
It comes after Chaka sadly announced that she’ll be retiring from touring but still plans on performing one-off shows.
However, there is one aspect of the music industry she wouldn’t mind seeing the back of.
‘The business end of it which is just horrific, horrendous and wrong,’ Chaka told Metro.co.uk.
The queen of funk continued: ‘There’s so many things, right now we could just start with this whole thing of us competing with one another.
Chaka is celebrating 50 years in the music biz (Picture: Redferns)
She’ll be retiring from big tours but will still perform one-off shows (Picture: Getty Images)
‘There’s no competition in self-expression and that is something that it appears these labels and bigger businesses count on; is that we stay competitive which is stupid, because self-expression is what’s unique to the individual.
‘How can you compete there? There’s no competition.’
There’s no denying that Chaka came up in the golden era of music, starting as a member of the group Rufus in 1973 before later going on to enjoy success as a solo artist. She’s created some of the most recognisable songs that have stood the test of time, such as Ain’t Nobody, Through The Fire and I’m Every Woman, and has collaborated with the biggest artists including Prince, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Mary J Blige and Ariana Grande.
With all those years of experience, Chaka shared one important piece of advice for younger artists who are navigating the ever-fickle world of music right now.
‘It’s maybe just being honest and truthful with yourself and your self-expression and not being afraid or competitive because there’s so much going on and everybody does something these days,’ she said.
‘You just have to keep yourself on what your goals are and what you want to do with your life and your music.
‘It’s pretty much just staying true to yourself. That’s a tough thing to do for these young people I think.’
Her music has been sampled by everyone from Kanye West to Whitney Houston, but Chaka isn’t selective when it comes to which artist is allowed to put their own spin on her iconic hits.
The singer explained: ‘I wouldn’t want any of them copied or covered if they weren’t copied or covered well or with the best of intentions honourably. You don’t want anyone to do a shlock job with any of your stuff. At the end of the day, music is a free agent unto itself, it doesn’t belong to me. It’s for everybody. I do it for everybody but me.’
Perhaps part of the reason for the star’s longevity is her penchant for straight-talking; refusing to sugarcoat her refreshing honesty and firmly earning herself a spot on the ‘diva’ list alongside many of her fellow great powerhouse songstresses.
The term ‘diva’ has often been used with negative connotations but Chaka embraces it.
‘I know inside what I am and everyone has their own… whatever they want to call me, as long as it’s in a positive light, I’m happy,’ she said.
Somehow Chaka, 71, hasn’t aged a day (Picture: FilmMagic)
‘Titles don’t mean a whole lot to me. They’re nice I suppose and I’m honoured but they do not define me.’
Now that she’ll have more time to put her feet up these days, Chaka has plans to spend more time in Georgia with her beloved family, which includes multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
When asked if there’s anything new she’d like to conquer, Chaka laughed: ‘Maybe kick myself in the back of my head! I’ve done everything, I’ve done so much.
‘I can’t think of anything else but believe me, that doesn’t stop things from coming. So I just remain open and willing, that’s all I can do really.’
Chaka will perform a run of UK shows this summer including at the Nocturne Live concert series at Blenheim Palace on June 13 (www.nocturnelive.com) and the Love Supreme Jazz Festival on July 7 (www.lovesupremejazzfestival.com).
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