Chaka Khan has honestly expressed her thoughts about the current state of the music industry and is calling for a major change.
The singer, who is 71, is marking the 50th anniversary of her impressive career with two performances at the Love Supreme Jazz Festival and Nocturne Live. summer She has sadly announced that she's retiring from touring but still plans to do occasional shows.
After all, Chaka sadly announced that she’ll be retiring from touring but still plans on performing one-off shows.
However, there is one part of the music industry she wouldn't mind getting rid of.
'The business side of it which is just terrible, awful and not right,' Chaka told. Metro.co.uk.
The queen of funk continued: 'There are many things, currently we could start with this whole idea of us competing with one another.'
'There's no competition in self-expression and that is something that it seems these labels and bigger businesses rely on; is that we stay competitive which is foolish, because self-expression is what's unique to the individual.
'How can you compete there? There's no competition.'
It's undeniable that Chaka rose to fame in the golden era of music, starting in 1973 as part of the group Rufus before later finding success as a solo artist.
With all those years of experience, Chaka shared one important piece of advice for younger artists who are navigating the ever-changing 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 used by everyone from Kanye West to Whitney Houston, but Chaka isn't picky when it comes to which artist is allowed to create their own version of her iconic hits.
'I wouldn’t want any of them copied or covered if they weren’t copied or covered well or with the best of intentions honorably. 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 knack for speaking plainly; 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 meanings 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 way, I’m happy,’ she said.
‘Titles don’t mean a lot to me. They’re nice I suppose and I’m honored but they do not define me.’
Now that she’ll have more time to relax 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 achieve, 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 stay open and willing, that’s all I can do really.’
Chaka will perform a series 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).
