Cleveland, OH - May 19, 2022 … OK, faithful readers, y’all know I’m falling out of my seat with excitement on this story!! The Queen, The Legend, Chaka Khan has joined in collaboration with SRG/ILS to release new music this summer!
The SRG/ILS group is honored to announce a new collaboration with one of the most iconic and recognizable voices in American music, Chaka Khan! A singer, songwriter, actor, and activist, Chaka Khan is one of the world’s most gifted and celebrated musicians the world has ever known. Impacting almost every popular musical genre and having sold an estimated 70 million records, Chaka Khan has influenced generations of recording artists.
“Chaka Khan is a beacon of light in our industry. Her spirit and her vocals soar. It is a pleasure working with her on this next chapter and we got a hot record here.” – Claude Villani, Founder and CEO of The SRG/ILS Group.
“I am very proud to be with The SRG/ILS Group, a company that is run by a real musician who understands the needs of artists that have been overlooked for years.” Chaka Khan
Her legendary career jump started when Stevie Wonder penned the now classic “Tell Me Something Good” for Chaka when she was lead singer of the R&B, Funk band Rufus in 1974. Both the song and the album, Rags To Rufus, topped the charts, were certified Gold and won the Grammy that year for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
After six albums with Rufus nearly all of which went Gold or Platinum, in 1978 Chaka Khan started her solo career releasing the all-time classic “I’m Every Woman” (Ashford and Simpson). Produced by iconic songwriter, arranger, producer, and executive Arif Mardin, the single and the album, Chaka, cemented Chaka Kahn as a force that was about to take over popular music.
After incredible success both solo and collaborative, in 1984 Chaka released the iconic album I Feel For You. The title track, a cover of a Prince song, was a gigantic pop hit on the radio and MTV and earned Chaka her second Grammy Award as a solo artist for Best R&B Vocal Performance. Alongside being a top selling chart topper, the song made history by being the first R&B song to feature a rap which was performed by Grand Master Melle Mel. That kind of forward thinking always kept Chaka Khan one step ahead of and praised by her peers. The late, great Miles Davis often said, “She [Chaka] sings like my horn.” And the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin said, “[Chaka] is a one- of- a -kind, premier vocalist.”
Alongside the hit albums and singles, Chaka Khan has appeared on stage and screen in such standout productions as The Blue Brothers movie, The Color Purple on Broadway, and Signed, Sealed, and Delivered a musical based on the music of her friend Stevie Wonder.
In 2022 the 10-time Grammy Award winner is about to chart a new path on all fronts of her record-breaking career. Chaka is continuing her hit making and chart-topping ways as she wraps up production of new music that is both contemporary and every bit classic Chaka Khan.