On March 23, 1953, Yvette Marie Stevens, better known as Chaka Khan, was born. Her career, which began in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus, has spanned more than five decades.
With “I Feel for You” in 1984, Khan, called the “Queen of Funk,” became the first R&B artist to experience crossover success with a rapper. Khan has eleven Grammy Awards and has sold an estimated 70 million albums worldwide.
The eldest of five children born to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman, she has described her father as a beatnik and her mother as “able to do anything”. She grew up in Hyde Park, which she describes as “an island in the heart of the mayhem” of Chicago’s difficult South Side housing projects.
Taka Boom, her sister, rose to prominence as a talented performer in her own right. Mark, her only sibling, was a well-known musician who was a member of Aurra and co-founded the funk band Jamaica Boys. Zaheva Stevens and Tammy McCrary are her other sisters.
What does Chaka mean in Tagalog?
Chaka means “ugly” in Filipino gay slang, while pangit is the normal word for it in Hindi maganda.
