Chaka Khan Quotes

I have a lot of charity work I'm into right now, and selling my Chakalates - supporting that whole effort.

If I love a song, I make it mine.

I've always struggled so much just to appreciate myself.

I'm a woman and I'm a backbone ... everybody needs one.

I'm an extremely determined person. I'm very serious about what I do.

America breeds ambition and while that can be a good thing, sometimes it's not. Ambition also breeds competition and that can be a very bad thing. People become chronically preoccupied with competing and don't know when to stop. It can become unhealthy.

I control my life and I have never let success run away with me - I've taken it and ran. And the only thing that could threaten my stability is me - I'm my only threat and my own worst enemy. Beyond that, I don't feel successful. I'm nowhere near where I plan to be as far as my goals.

But me and my sister knew all the Doris Day and Frank Sinatra songs, too.

I remember seeing the movie 'To Sir With Love' when I was a little girl.

One of the album's songs features Mary J. Blige, but I don't want to talk too much about it yet. I think you will hear the music that's been playing in my head when it comes out.

There are a lot of people I would have liked to have collaborated with, and would still like to.

I've been collaborating with Ira Schickman on some songs, and there will be many other, great musicians involved.

I think the whole reason for my life is in there somewhere.

Your moment of clarity comes when you face your fears. Sobriety gave me back me - my life. Self-medication kills you slowly. You can never get a handle on that. It's a highly destructive force that has to be dealt with on a spiritual level as much as a physical one.

I would have been an archaeologist or something, maybe a historian. There are a lot of things I would have liked to have done differently, but everything that happened to me made me the person I am today. No matter how negative it seemed at the time or whatever hardship it seemed to have been at that time, Im just the sum of all those amazing experiences.

You know, it's just tough to get together and do work with somebody.

I want to give some positive messages and to empower some people.

But really, we also need to learn how to love one another as women. How to appreciate and respect each other.

Getting a degree, being on Sesame Street ... those were like real accomplishments to me.

If I pop everyone who calls me a diva then I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison.

If we could just see how related we all are, how we're really all in the same place.

My philosophy is familiarity breeds contempt.

Being a singer is a way for me to get to a platform to do more.

I won't become a household word, or achieve the fame I deserve in my lifetime because of the way I look.

I'd been in a vicious cycle and circle of people and couldn't see my way out. So I picked myself up one day about 15 years ago and moved where I didn't know anyone.

A song is not going to change this damn world. Instead of making people mad about this shitty situation, it's going to make everybody happy. It's a false thing. It's like a lullaby as opposed to a gun. People need to be slapped into reality and music just doesn't do that.

It's time for those of us who have a voice to speak out for life, for love and for justice using the same media we've used throughout our careers.

I'd like to work on putting art programs back in schools.

The bickering and fighting and hating that women do with each other - it's going to kill us as a race of people.

Every personal experience of my life impacts my music. I can only give what I have. And when I receive, I give it back. I often fix it or color it differently or give it in my way, but thats what its about.

Walking through this life really is walking through fire.

You've just got to follow your own path. You have to trust your heart and you have to listen to the warnings ... You can't argue with the universe. It's not about that. It's more about relaxing and knowing that you can handle it and feeling empowered. Knowing you have the power to do whatever the hell you want to do. That's what it's about. It really is.

I have some scars ... lots of internal ones. But they're all scabbed over.

When I was in my twenties, it felt like I was riding wild horses, and I was hoping I didn't go over a cliff.