The PAINFUL HIDDEN STORY of CHAKA KHAN – CHILDHOOD TRAUMA | TORTURED SOUL_What They Didn't Tell You!

she was born with a gift a special gift [Music] [Applause] her voice Angelic whenever she hit those high notes with her ferocious soaring vocals we all got goosebumps her voice heals hearts and his medicine to the soul over to her beauty she's a goddess the queen of all queens both The Young and the old she's unmatched her spirit demeanor personality and mannerisms whenever she was on stage was inconceivable you could feel she owned the stage with her high alpha energy she showed us why she owns the title the queen of Funk with success both as a solo artist and as lead vocalist with the funk group Rufus in hits such as ain't nobody I'm Every Woman I feel for you she showed the world why she was special it is to no surprise that over her career period She has achieved a total of seven gold singles seven gold albums and three platinum albums she has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame multiple times earned a number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 just to name a few her influence in music is often underrated you can hear Chaka in the likes of Yolanda Adams Beyonce among many more but just as many artists in the Golden Era she was a tortured and Disturbed Soul a soul that tried to run away from her past which eventually caught up with her this is her candid and Untold chilling story Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23 1953 into an artistic Bohemian household in Chicago Illinois the eldest of five children born to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman she has described her father as a beatnik beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s and early 1960s who subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle they rejected the Conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and express themselves through various forms of art such as literature poetry music and painting she was raised in the Hyde Park area an island in Chicago's rough South Side housing projects Her Sister Yvonne later became a successful musician in her own right under the name Taka Boom her only brother Mark who formed the funk group Jamaica boys and was a member of Aura also became a successful musician she has two other sisters sahiba Stevens and Tammy McCrary Khan was raised as a Catholic she attended the elementary school of Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Hyde Park her affection for music was linked to her grandmother who exposed her to Jazz during her early years Khan's fontness for rhythm and blues developed when she was still a young adolescent at the age of 11 she established a girl group named the crystalettes a venture that featured her sister taka as well during the late 1960s Khan participated in several civil rights rallies alongside Connie her father's second wife who was a staunch supporter of the movement it was during this time that she became associated with the Black Panther Party her connection to the party began in 1967 when she formed a friendship with Fred Hampton an activist and Native of Chicago who was a fellow member of the party although there is a common belief that she adopted the name Chaka while being a part of the Panthers Khan clarified that her full name Chaka adune adufe hodari karifi was bestowed upon her at the age of 13 by a Yoruba Baba during her days with the Panthers she was Fearless her role was selling the panther magazines she was a rebel in school totally against all the sock hops her school had to offer to keep the natives quiet which according to them were slave gatherings she instead had combat boots on and green khaki pants she never felt in danger as to her they were doing the right thing however when a gun came into her hands which she hid in her room her view about the group changed every moment she had that gun it changed her she felt physically sick she then decided to throw it away to have her peace of mind on top of this the group marginalized the voices of women in 1969 she chose to leave the Panthers and decided to discontinue her high school education she had attended both Calumet High School and Kenwood High School at age 17 she ran away from home and decided to follow her passion in music subsequently Khan ventured into performing with various small groups in the Chicago vicinity her initial involvement was with cash McCall's group called life where she collaborated with her then boyfriend Hassan Khan the two married shortly after she got a record deal and badly needed the marriage for her to be accepted as at age 17. she was still legally a child and her mother had refused to sign on her behalf prompting her to lie she was pregnant in the same year Khan was asked to replace Baby Huey of Baby Huey and the babysitters after Huey's death her experience here was short and unsatisfying as the group disbanded a year later while making rounds at local Chicago music venues in 1972 19 year old Khan was discovered by members of the rhythm and blues band Rufus she was immediately given lead vocalist role replacing her good friend Paulette McWilliams who had recently left the group citing exhaustion from touring and wished to spend more time with her family with Khan on vocals Rufus were an immediate sensation she had both a hell of a voice and a precocious raw stage presence distinguished by Khan's radiant vocals and energizing stage presence the band released six gold or platinum albums through the end of the decade and scored three top 10 pop hits including tell me something good which won a Grammy for Best r b performance reflective of Khan's growing stature the band's billing constantly evolved during these years simply Rufus at first they became Rufus featuring Chaka Khan and then Rufus and Chaka Khan and ultimately Rufus and Chaka at some point in 1978 possibly the week in July when Quincy Jones topped the r b chart with stuff like that featuring lead vocals from Chaka Khan and Ashford and Simpson it became evident that Rufus could no longer contain their singer and co-songwriter Khan had a pile of additional extracurricular credits on recordings by the likes of Stephen Bishop Chicago The Gap Band Joni Mitchell and Lenny white but they were comparatively modest stuff like that combined with the ever brightening Spotlight in Rufus left her truly poised for a breakout Khan signed a deal with Warner Bros Ops in that October stepped out with chaka establishing a lengthy partnership with producer and a ranger Arif Martin the album featured I'm Every Woman An Elegant disco Anthem written by Ashford and Simpson that topped the r b chart and reached number 21 on the hot 100. instant solo success notwithstanding Khan rejoined Rufus for the Quincy Jones produced Master Jam the band's fourth and final album to top the r b chart she would thereafter go on to conquer the world as a solo artist the rest is history while there was no doubt about her Talent chaka's life has been marred with scandals problems and the not so good headlines while many have come up with all sorts of theories about why she acted this way this is what we believe to be the reason behind all these you see Chico was a daddy's girl and when their dad abandoned them she felt vulnerable helpless and alone unknown to her this was the beginning of her traumatic experience in relationships career and personal life she embarked on a journey to run away from her Shadow that's when she dropped out of school left the Black Panther group and ran away from home to add on this she was in her teens and the rebellious trait was at its highest the once conservative girl had adapted a don't care attitude wearing revealing clothes and not taking advice from anyone not to mention being vulgar desperate to kick-start her career in music rumors say she would use her beauty and charm to get her into the band groups in the process she became promiscuous it is how she met her first husband Hassan Khan their marriage is believed to have ended after sources say Chaka had something going on with rasaan Morris while still married and even got a daughter together Indira molini in 1973. she would then marry her second husband Richard Holland in 1976 with whom they would have a son Damien Holland in 1979. their marriage came at the wrong time Chaka was at the top of her career with Rufus and what really made her pull crowds was her dressing she would appear on stage with all the legs bottoms and evens breasts exposed Holland being the jealous type wanted her to tone down her sexy stage image but she refused on top of this Andre Fisher a fellow Rufus member was jealous of shaka's newlywed and since Richard used to come by when the group were in practice he decided to start a fight beating Richard up word on the street say Andre had had a thing with Chaka before and was acting out of natural jealousy Shaka and Damien would divorce in 1980. in all her relationships she felt it was a hassle as all her Partners expected her to be what she was when on stage the wild one while most of the time she went back home exhausted and fatigued Fame with Rufus came at a cost and the cost Peace of Mind as a highly combustible band on top of being overprotective of Chaka their Diamond there were a million things happening behind the scenes if it was not the never-ending lineup changes then it was the intense fist fights in the studio or even issues with the managers and the record labels they were surrounded by rip-off artists the record label even started billing the band differently portraying Chaka as an independent artist featuring Rufus from the previous ask Rufus another problem was her drug use at the beginning Chaka was known to be using only recreational drugs and had self-discipline adopted from his ways as a black panther But as time went by and she became a household name becoming friends with the likes of Rick James Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston things escalated quickly she Advanced to heroin cocaine and alcohol which would in turn make her an addict unable to regulate herself she would also together with her sister Taka Boom and Prince started using fentanyl a prescription drug which they became dependent on when Prince died from a fentanyl overdose on 21st April 2016. it served as a wake-up call for Chaka and her sister the two entered an addiction Rehabilitation and Aftercare program to help them overcome their addiction while many might say she brought all these to herself we must all point out that just like most of the artists back then Fame came at a very young age and they didn't know how to handle it peer pressure was at its Max with many doing all sorts of things in the fear of missing out on top of this just like the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince Chaka realizing the so-called friends and managers were just out there to feed off her and didn't have her best interests at heart she felt betrayed in the only remedy was to hide in the drugs to make it worse being a female in the industry and not just any female a very beautiful one voluptuous with exotic features she was a target of many predators if it wasn't someone trying to Mint money off her then there was someone always eyeing to have his way with her her self-destructive behaviors were a scream of help maybe if her dad had not left them or she had made peace with her past early enough things would be different Maybe these days she is a t total vegan which she adopted in a bid to lose weight and combat high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes she's been sober since 2005 with her only Vice being cigarettes she currently spends much of her time raising her granddaughter despite all the things happening behind the scenes she still managed to give us the best version of herself we owe it to her let's celebrate her more while she's with us let's show her that she still has genuine friends family and fans around her for those who have been fortunate enough to attend one of her concerts how was it also those that didn't what's your favorite song from her catalog do tell us in the comment section below let's keep it clean positive and uplifting so that when she Scrolls through this she feels our words we love you Chaka Khan we will always do

Channel: BACK TO THE 60s

Views: 556,532

Keywords: chaka khan documentary, chaka khan story

Id: HemZro-SRzc

Length: 13min 51sec (831 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 27 2023