Chaka Khan started off as the front woman for the funk band Rufus in the 1970s, and she had achieved major recognition as a part of that unit, churning out hits like 'Tell Me Something Good' and 'Sweet Thang.' The Chicago native knew that she could build something as a solo artist while maintaining her role as part of Rufus -- and that's exactly what she did.

Solo tracks like, 'I'm Every Woman' and 'Through the Fire' influenced every musician from Whitney Houston and Erykah Badu to Kanye West, who heavily sampled the latter for one of his biggest hits, 'Through the Wire.'

 

 

 Watch Chaka Khan's 'I Feel for You' Video

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