Chaka Khan is undeniably one of our living legends, and she deserves every bit of the fanfare she’s received over the course of her career. But just because she’s achieved accolade upon accolade doesn’t mean that she’s ready to stop the show. In fact, she’s readying another chapter with her new album Chakzilla set to arrive in September. She’s giving us a listen with its title track and a cinematic new music video to go along with it.
“Chakzilla” the song is produced by Greg Kurstin and co-written by pop star and songsmith Sia. The collaboration takes Chaka into dance pop territory, which is a bit different but not unfamiliar for the soul icon. Synths zoom and burst around her vocal and a constant, pulsing drumbeat keeps the party going as Chaka sings with an assist from Sia on backing vocals.
The song deals with Chaka as she makes her way back into the dating world. However, she’s not looking to shrink herself to find it. Instead, she’s embracing her larger-than-life persona with gusto and looking for someone who can match her outsize disposition.
“I know that I am great / (I’m a giant, I’m a giant) / I know the rules I’ll break / (I’m a giant, so come up come up come up),” she beckons on the song’s chorus. “Forever my heart aches / (I’m a giant, I’m a giant) / ’Cause you’re my equal babe / (I’m a giant, so come up come up come up).”
The visuals for the song draw inspiration from its namesake. We watch Khan take a seat in an otherwise empty theater to see a film. That film is Chakzilla, which stars a stories-tall Chaka as she walks through a city to fix the damage a catastrophe has wrought. While a giant Chaka is a bit far-fetched, it isn’t that out of the norm to think that a Chaka Khan song can make the world a better place to live in.
This single will not be the only collaboration between Sia and Chaka Khan on Chakzilla the album, and it seems she’ll be in other great company. “It’s a really, really great album, a great CD with great songs. It’s going to be on the pop dance side,” Chaka told People about the project. “We’ve got lots of great people collaborating as well.”
We’ll find out when Chakzilla arrives on Friday, September 18th.
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