Chaka Khan has five decades of performances to boast about, and yet, at 70 years old, she still does not have any solid plans to hang up the mic for good. The “Queen of Funk” instead has her mind set on going on for as long as she can, but with the caveat that her touring days are done.
The “Tell Me Something Good” singer explained to Rolling Stone in a new feature story that her life is about more than music these days. “I got this rich-a– life. I’ve got great-grandchildren I want to get to know better,” she said, noting the stage is all some of her peers have.
Khan continued, “So I will not do another tour. I’ll do dates, but it won’t look like a tour. They’ll be far enough apart that I can have time to sleep in between.” She is currently booked to perform on Jan. 27 in Los Angeles.
The vocalist, who began her career in the 1970s, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November. Her collaborators include Whitney Houston, Prince, and Mary J. Blige, to name a few. Ahead of her HOF induction, she told Today.com that the road to building her musical legacy has been “Long as hell. Never ending.”
Even then, retirement was a far-off idea. Though she admitted that she had considered a final bow, she ultimately concluded that walking away for good simply does not work. The 10-time Grammy Award winner echoed somewhat of a similar sentiment to Rolling Stone. “Well, I might do that three or four times, like other b—ches do,” Khan comically quipped about retirement.
Bow Wow, T.I., MA$E, Lauryn Hill, and many others have announced their retirement from the music industry on several occasions. But somehow, some way they make it to a stage and perform for fans.
Kanye West – Through the Wire (2003)
Chaka Khan – Through the Fire (1984) pic.twitter.com/mh65Tc4FH6
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The “I Feel For You” artist added that concerns about her catalog outliving her is an even loftier thought.
“I don’t really care. I would hope that some of my s—t has some longevity, but if it doesn’t, that’ll be because hopefully somebody better has come along. I just hope that the art form doesn’t get so screwed up with stupid s—t kids today think that every instrument can be played on a keyboard,” said Khan.
She has previously criticized the use of Auto-tune, saying that some artists who overuse the audio effect would be better suited working at the post office. Her outspoken ways garnered backlash from some people, but criticism has never muzzled the diva.
In the article, Khan also reflected on her public criticism of Kanye West sampling her vocals for “Through the Wire,” a record that was sonically inspired by her hit “Through the Fire.” In the past, she that West’s artistic decision to speed up her vocals was stupid and not at all what she expected after clearing the music.
Her perspective has since softened. “That was my fault, too, for feeling salty about that in any way. Because if I understood the rap game more completely, like I do now, then that wouldn’t have been a big deal to me,” she told the publication.
Khan’s record “I’m Every Woman” was famously covered by Houston in 1992. The veteran entertainer, however, has long expressed her approval of the late singer’s rendition.
She has two children, daughter Indira Milini and son Damien Holland and reportedly was granted custody of her 10-year-old granddaughter, Daija Jade Holland, in 2020.
