Chaka Khan discusses her retirement: "I might do that three or four times, like other bitches do"

In November, Chaka Khan was finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, receiving the Musical Excellence Award alongside the likes of 2023 inductees Kate Bush, Missy Elliott and Sheryl Crow.

Reflecting on her career, and legacy, Khan says that she doesn't really care about all of that as she feels incredibly lucky to have experienced five decades of success: "I would hope that some of my shit has some longevity, but if it doesn’t, that’ll be because hopefully somebody better has come along," she reveals. "I just hope that the art form doesn’t get so screwed up with stupid shit — kids today think that every instrument can be played on a keyboard. Instruments have to be introduced once again to these kids."

Chaka Khan tells Rolling Stone that she won’t do another tour:

“Some people, that’s all they have, you know? I got this rich-ass life. I’ve got great-grandchildren I want to get to know better. So I will not do another tour. I’ll do dates, but it won’t look like a tour. They’ll… pic.twitter.com/vAFl1pQSi0

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 29, 2023

The Queen of Funk has had a storied career, collaborating with the likes of Robert Palmer, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight, De La Soul, Mary J. Blige and Ariana Grande. Whilst performing is in her blood, Khan feels as though it's time to wind down her touring career.

"Some people, that’s all they have, you know? I got this rich-ass life. I’ve got great-grandchildren I want to get to know better. So I will not do another tour. I’ll do dates, but it won’t look like a tour. They’ll be far enough apart that I can have time to sleep in between," she explains, adding that in terms of retiring, she's not there yet – "Well, I might do that three or four times, like other bitches do."