Chaka Khan in 1970 Before Rufus

Chaka Khan, the Queen of Funk, rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the band Rufus in the ’70s. But, little did people know that she had been making a living with music before she became a Grammy-winning artist. After dropping out of high school, she began performing in small groups in Chicago.

In a discussion with Interview Magazine, she shared that growing up in Chicago shaped her. Her mother was into opera, while her dad enjoyed jazz. The legend has won 10 Grammy Awards and sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide, including the historical crossover hit “I Feel for You.”