Chicago, IL · funk · soul

Chaka Khan

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Every woman, one voice — funk and soul royalty whose catalog with Rufus and beyond never quits, still one of the great living instruments.

Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in Chicago on March 23, 1953, and raised in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. At eleven she formed a girl group called the Crystalettes with her sister, and in her teens she became involved with the Black Panther Party. At thirteen, a Yoruba priest gave her the name Chaka, meaning "woman of fire."

She first reached wide audiences in the early 1970s as lead singer of the funk band Rufus, recording hits including "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum "Ain't Nobody." The run earned her the nickname Queen of Funk, and her career has since run for more than five decades.

Her solo debut produced the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman," later a pop hit for Whitney Houston, and was followed by "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me." Her 1984 recording of Prince's "I Feel for You" became a crossover hit built around a rap verse, and "Through the Fire" and a 1986 duet with Steve Winwood, "Higher Love," which topped the Billboard Hot 100, extended the run.

Her voice is a broad, powerful contralto with a strong jazz instinct, heard across funk, soul, disco, R&B and jazz standards. She has guested on records by Ry Cooder, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell, De La Soul, Mary J. Blige and Ariana Grande, among many others.

Khan has won eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2023 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category. She has remained an active performer for decades and is regularly cited as an influence by singers working in soul and pop.

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