Why Chaka Khan Thinks It's 'Ridiculous' When People Call Her the 'Queen of Funk'

"I've been trying to drop that 'funk' thing forever," said the singer

Chaka Khan is a passionate, free spirit.

The iconic singer, 71, opened up about her disdain for her "Queen of Funk" label in an interview with The Independent on Tuesday, June 11.

“That’s ridiculous! I’ve been trying to drop that ‘funk’ thing forever. For. EVER! I hate to be boxed in, you know?" she told the outlet.

Khan— who has had a longstanding career in many genres thanks to hits like "I’m Every Woman" and “Through the Fire"— recalled finding a passion for music at an early age, recalling that she was "singing and dancing as soon as I could walk."

Related: Stevie Wonder Wrote One of Chaka Khan's Signature Hits After She Rejected a Song and Asked 'What Else You Got?'

Music is something she said feels "feels like when the wheels of an airplane leave the tarmac — like I’m lifting off."

"It feels like I’m soaring," she said. "Music balances me out. It makes everything OK. It lets me know I’m in the right place. It’s where I fit, where I live. It’s what I live for.”

It's no surprise that Khan's biggest advice for aspiring musicians is to keep chasing their "calling."

Related: Chaka Khan Says She ‘Will Not Do Another Tour’: ‘I Got This Rich-Ass Life’ 

"I keep telling these kids, they want to know what should they do if they have a calling or a dream. The thing is, if you have a calling or a dream, you're either going to realize it or you're going to crash and burn; kill yourself or kill somebody else or something, you know? You're gonna have to do it, it has to be done," she expressed in a Feb. 2023 interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"Or you have to pick something else. Because the calling is just the calling. It's that simple," continued Khan. "It's bigger than you. So, you have to do it. And if you don't, the post office is always hiring."

Last November, Khan was inducted into the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott and Willie Nelson.

Speaking to the inductee's talents, John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a press release that they represented the "diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll."

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Khan celebrated the milestone by thanking her fans on Instagram, saying, "I couldn't have done it without you."

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