Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan is one of the world’s most gifted and celebrated music icons. A ten-time Grammy Award winner, she is revered by fans and peers for her timeless, unmatched vocal style and image. Growing up in Chicago, IL, Chaka began singing in local groups as a teen. As a member of the funk band Rufus, she caught the attention of music icon Stevie Wonder, who penned her first smash hit with Rufus, “Tell Me Something Good,” earning Chaka her first Grammy Award. She established herself as a solo artist with the release of the smash hit “I’m Every Woman.” Pursuing her love of jazz, she and mega-producer Arif Mardin brilliantly re-worked the classic “Night in Tunisia” with the song’s originator, Dizzy Gillespie, on trumpet. Her crowning achievement in jazz was the Grammy Award-winning tune “Be Bop Medley” from the album Chaka Khan, which also won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. She has also performed in musical theater, including on London’s West End in Mama I Want to Sing and in the role of Sofia on Broadway in The Color Purple. Among many accolades, Chaka has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The City of Chicago honored her by designating July 28, 2013, as “Chaka Khan Day” and naming the street of her high school alma mater “Chaka Khan Way.” Chaka has always made time to support and uplift her community. Inspired by her autistic nephew, Chaka established the Chaka Khan Foundation to raise awareness, provide resources, and explore treatments for children with autism in underserved communities. She later expanded the mission of the foundation to focus on women and children at risk.