Chaka Khan

Raised into an artistic household, when Kjan was young her grandmother introduced her to jazz music and as a pre-teen started her own all-female singing group with her sister Taka named the Crystallites. Whilst still in high school the singer joined the Afro-Arts Theatre through which had the opportunity to tour with Motown star Mary Wells.

In 1967 Khan joined the Black Panther Party and worked on their breakfast program, during her membership she was given a name change by a African shaman to Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi. Khan would perform with small groups around the Chicago, U.S., area including the group Lyfe, which featured her then boyfriend Hassan Khan whom she would later marry and change her stage name to Chaka Khan.

Another group Rufus spotted Khan in 1972 and asked her to replace their current singer, the band signed to ABC Records a year later. The 1973 self-titled album from the group had limited success despite a powerful cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Maybe Your Baby”. However, a year later in 1974 Stevie Wonder himself collaborated with the band on the song “Tell Me Something Good”, which he had written for Khan and the band broke out into the mainstream reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s subsequent albums “Rufusized”, “Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan”, “Ask Rufus”, “Street Player” and “Masterjame” all achieved platinum status and highlighted Khan’s vocal talents.

1978 brought Khan’s solo career and her debut album “Chaka” which achieved platinum status in the U.S. largely due to the success of the singer “I”m Every Woman”. Her follow-up album titled “Naughty” was released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records and went gold with the help of disco single “Clouds”. Khan released a number of albums from 1980 onwards but it wasn’t until 1984’s sixth studio album titled “I Feel for You”, written by Prince, featuring a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder, and an introductory rap by Grandmaster Melle Mel, that the singer once again came to the forefront of the charts and hearts of people.

The singer has since released the albums “Destiny” (1986), “CK” (1988), “The Woman I Am” (1992), “Come 2 My House” (1999), “ClassiKhan” (2004) and “Funk This” (2007), has won no fewer than 10 Grammy Awards, two Soul Train Awards and has been inducted into the SoulMusic Hall of Fame.