Latest Release
- JAN 27, 2023
- 1 Song
- Rufus featuring Chaka Khan · 1975
- Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 · 1983
- I Feel for You · 1984
- Rags to Rufus · 1974
- I Feel for You · 1984
- Chaka · 1978
- Masterjam · 1979
- Set It Off (Music From The New Line Cinema Motion Picture) · 1996
- Reasonable Woman · 2020
- What Cha' Gonna Do for Me · 1981
Essential Albums
- In the transition from the ‘70s to the ‘80s, few R&B artists showed as much willingness to adapt as Chaka Khan. Her fearlessness paid off with 1984’s I Feel For You, the most successful album of her career. Rather than rest on snappy new-wave soul of her last few albums — let alone the bubbly disco funk of Rufus, whose music now seems ancient in comparison to I Feel For You — Khan and producers Arif Mardin and David Foster wholeheartedly embrace modern sounds while retaining the high musical standard of Chaka’s past efforts. The shiny, mechanized grooves of “This Is My Night” and “My Love Is Alive” are brought to life by Khan’s vivacious singing. The new production techniques give extra dramatic flair to “Stronger Than Before,” and especially “Through the Fire,” one of the most smoldering ballads of the mid-‘80s. All of the album’s aspects come together on the title song. Written by Prince, it features Stevie Wonder on harmonica and rapping by Grandmaster Melle Mel. Leave it to Chaka Khan to unite three generations of R&B innovators for the purpose of one perfectly wrought pop song.
- Chaka Khan’s third album with Rufus proved that commercial and artistic success needed not be mutually exclusive. As the band perfected its blend of pop, funk and disco, they continued to retain a high caliber of songwriting and instrumentation. Chaka Khan’s importance to the band cannot be overstated. She gives every song soul and guts, and makes every performance utterly convincing. “Fool’s Paradise,” “Ooh I Like Your Loving” and “Circles” are brilliant productions that combine complex arrangements with Chaka’s vibrant vocals, while “Have a Good Time” and “Everybody Has an Aura” reprise the hard-hitting funk of the band’s early years. A reading of the Bee Gees’ “Jive Talkin’” shows Chaka’s ability to squeeze the sex from any song, but as a whole, the album is more of a showcase for her gentle side. “Little Boy Blue” is a poignant love note to a man lost in addiction, but the real showstopper is “Sweet Thing.” Over a slippery, minimalist guitar riff, Chaka offers the sweetest evocation of lovelorn delirium.
- 2004
Artist Playlists
- Disco anthems and relaxed funk from this R&B icon.
- Her explorations of funk and soul never dry up.
Live Albums
- Quincy Jones & Mark Ronson
More To Hear
- Her run with Rufus was funky, but in 1978 a pop diva emerged.
About Chaka Khan
Few singers pack as much fire and versatility into their voices as Chaka Khan. Born in Chicago in 1953, she discovered jazz and R&B early, singing in several local groups before being recruited as the frontwoman of the multiracial funk band Rufus. From 1973 to 1983, her fierce, wailing contralto stood as the dynamo to the band’s mix of bottom-heavy funk rockers (“Tell Me Something Good” and “You Got the Love”) and sensual Quiet Storm R&B jams (“Sweet Thing” and “Stay”). Desiring to expand her credentials as the “Queen of Funk,” Khan forged an eclectic solo career with legendary producer Arif Mardin at the helm, flaunting her range through empowering disco rave-ups (“I’m Every Woman”), festive funk belters (“Clouds” and “I Know You, I Live You”), jazz homages (“And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia)”), and pioneering R&B-meets-hip-hop fusions (“I Feel for You”). More than five decades deep into her career, it’s impossible to trace the paths of modern R&B female sirens—from Mary J. Blige to Fantasia—without Chaka Khan’s boundless vocal artistry.
- HOMETOWN
- Chicago, IL, United States
- BORN
- March 23, 1953
- GENRE
- R&B/Soul