I got this via e-mail, I know my Chakaholic addiction get on most ppl nerves but do I care? Thats up 2 you!

Enjoy:

In the crazy, crazy world of music, there are those who make it and there
are those who don’t. Simple, plain fact. The pressures of a life lived
in the public can be enormous and if you’re not equipped mentally,
spiritually and emotionally, well, the chances are, you may not survive
the rigors of the biz. Ask Chaka Khan, a woman who once told me she’d
“been to hell and back in a limousine!”
Chaka and I have known each other since 1974 when we did our first
interview, me sitting in the bedroom of my little Bayswater flat in
London, she thousands of miles away in Chicago conducting her first ever
chat with a British publication, “Blues & Soul.” The group Rufus had
just began making noise after the release of their debut ABC album and I
recall, I particularly loved the single “Whoever’s Thrilling You Is
Killing Me,” probably because – going through the drama at that time of
trying to be in a relationship with a man who was also living with his
girlfriend – I could relate to the song. Yes, y’all, I went there…

Much water, drama, music and life has passed since then for both Chaka
and I and as the years have gone by, the connection seems to have grown
stronger. I long ago forgave Ms. CK for calling me ‘Mr. Thing’ when she
was being introduced to me by a blushing publicist in the early ‘90s,
Chaka acknowledging that she did indeed know me from all the many times
we had talked! I wrote an entire chapter on her in my 1999 book “The
Soulful Divas” and was gratified that she complemented me on it, feeling
that it had presented a balanced and honest view of her and her career.

I was happy when her sister and manager Tammy informed me that Chaka was
contemplating writing her autobiography a few years ago and from time to
time, I would get the word that she was about to start. Well, finally,
Chaka took it on and “Chaka! Through The Fire,” published by Rodale Books
and co-authored with Tanya Bolden is hitting the streets and – much to my
joy, complete with a couple of quotes from interviews we’ve done together
– it’s a great, great read. Unlike some other autobiographies, Chaka has
been truly honest about herself and a life filled with highs and lows and
when we say ‘highs,’ we ain’t just talking about getting gold records!
But her battles with drugs are just a part of what Chaka deals with in
the book: she talks candidly about her relationships with her family, her
children and the men in her life while taking us through a career that
often looked like it had peaked, only to undergo some transformation,
having Chaka emerge – in the words of the Bacharach-Bayer Sager song she
recorded some time ago – stronger than before.

With the same kind of straight talk which has characterized all our
conversations, Chaka laid it out one Monday afternoon at the end of
September. “I had been talking about doing this for years and years,” she
reveals. “I told Tammy, ‘I’ll never do this because my life is nobody’s
damn business!’ But I started getting what I call divine messages –
through my children’s art club, through the organization we have for
abused women - and I realized that there was a
lot of miseducation going on out there. There are a lot of kids out who
feel really lost and don’t feel loved. This generation ‘X’ is made up of
kids having sex at fourteen, kids who are afraid. No one is giving them
guidance and they don’t know what the hell life is all about. Now, maybe
I don’t know either but at least I can pass on some information through
writing this book and letting the kids know they are not alone, that life
can get better and can improve, that there is a light at the tunnel and
it is not necessarily a choo-choo train…”

Chaka admits that the writing process was “tiring. It took a while and
during the last year-and-a-half, I met with several big publishers and I
didn’t like any of them! It was all about sensationalism and I was like,
‘I don’t think so!’ I met with six literary agents and somehow the word
got to Rodale – and I fell in love with them. That they publish books by
[motivational and inspirational speaker] Marianne Williamson, that sold
me and that’s how come I picked them. It was through Rodale that I met my
co-writer Tanya Bolden and this woman is like a being from another
planet! She can get inside your head - and inside your heart. She can
listen to what you say, take it and put a depth to it. She sensed things
were deeper than the way I said them…”

Before she began writing, Chaka knew sharing the most intimate aspects of
her life might be hard. “Almost all of it was tough,” she admits.
“:Talking about my children and how they felt about me, that was hard.
But, you know, it was the biggest therapy for me. I did let my mother,
father, sisters and children read the galleys of the book and my dad was
the only one who was concerned about some of the things I had written.
But I told him, ‘Daddy, these things are what happened and they make you
the great man you are.’ After reading it, my family learned a lot about
me they didn’t know and I think they have a better understanding about me
now…”

While “Chaka! Through The Fire” has its fair share of drama, Chaka says
it also includes “funny and amusing stories that I’d forgotten. I hope
that after people read it, they will feel good. I do know that – unlike
some other autobiographies – there’s no dissing in here!” For Chaka,
entering the literary world is an exciting new experience and she
recounts, “I went to the L.A. book fair this year and I was one of four
people on the panel they had. It was nice meeting literary people, people
from Borders, Barnes & Noble and so on and it wasn’t just about signing
autographs, although I must have signed 4000 of them! It was just great
talking about what was in the book and I’m looking forward to my book
tour which starts in October.”

While promoting the book is a first priority, she is as always active on
many fronts. “We’re upgrading the website so we can sell autographed
copies of the book as well as beauty products, my clothing line and some
music, like special recordings of live shows and jazz stuff that’s not on
the market,” she reveals. For those who have been anxiously awaiting a
new recording project, Chaka says she’s been working with Raphael Saddiq
and Wyclef Jean among others. She’s written a song with Mary J. Blige and
anticipates doing some music with neo-soul artist Donnie. A Christmas
single is in the works and while Chaka can’t say “where or when,” she
does anticipate that she will have a new album for release “sometime in
2004, honey!” There’s been plenty of activity in the studio she now owns
including some writing and producing work with fiancé Doug Rasheed (known
for his work with Tupac, Coolio and Brandy) and immediately on the
horizon is a visit to Japan followed by a trip to Monaco where Chaka will
be honored with a much-deserved Lifetime Achievement award at the World
Music Awards.

There are some other performance dates in the offing but Chaka says she
is very focused on promoting “Chaka! Through The Fire” and having read
it, I can say that in typical Khan fashion, it is authentic and real, a
book that ends on an upbeat note as Chaka celebrates her fiftieth year
living a life full out with the kind of passion and intensity that have
been the trademarks of her music. A testament to survival, the book is
an essential read for anyone who’s ever been touched by the soulful power
of Chaka’s distinctive artistry. In a word or two, it is – as we used to
say back in the day – in the pocket!

you go girl.Glad to see you're back,discussing Chaka again

DavidEye said:

You know me, I can't shut up when it comes down to this ol' bitch, I just can't!

I finished her book and it was GREAT! And now I see what you mean when you mentioned her first meeting with Miles Davis

that part was hilarious!