Chaka Khan releases first album in decade

NEW YORK (Billboard) - R&B veteran Chaka Khan covers tunes by the likes of Prince, Joni Mitchell and Jimi Hendrix on her first album in almost a decade, which hit stores this week.

Khan teamed up with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to make "Funk This," which is being released by the Sony-distributed Burgundy Records imprint.

The album mixes originals and covers, the latter including Prince's "Sign O' the Times," Mitchell's "Ladies Man," Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand," a Rufus medley of "Pack'd My Bags" and "You Got the Love," and a duet with Michael McDonald on "You Belong to Me," which he co-wrote with Carly Simon.

Khan also duets with Mary J. Blige on the track "Disrespectful," and she hopes "Funk This" fills what she feels has been a void since her last album, the 1998 Reprise release "Come 2 My House."

"I went to about three companies (after Reprise)," she said. "We almost got to the point where we were gonna record and things got funky so I left. I just figured when it happens it'll happen, y'know?"

Khan kept busy in that time, though, touring constantly and snagging a Grammy in 2003 for her cover of "What's Going On" with the Funk Brothers.

Reuters/Billboard

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