Johannesburg - Chaka Khan may not have had a single hour of sleep on her 17-hour flight to South Africa, but the Grammy Award-winning artist could not be happier.
That’s because there is no place in the world that the US singer would rather be than South Africa.
“I had a gruelling flight, to be honest, and couldn’t sleep at all,” Khan told the Saturday Star.
“I jumped straight on a plane after my performance in the US on Thursday night. I’ve had little rest, but I could not be more excited to be back in the country I hold close to my heart.”
The 10-time Grammy Award winner arrived in the country on Friday and will be headlining the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival, taking place on Saturday afternoon at Huddle Park in Linksfield, Joburg.
Khan will be performing at the festival alongside fellow Grammy Award winner and legendary house DJ Louie Vega, as well as the English jazz-funk band Shakatak.
The singer, whose hits include I’m Every Woman and Ain’t Nobody will spend four days in Joburg before heading back to Los Angeles to continue working on a new project in the studio.
Apart from performing at the food and music festival, Khan plans do charity work and some sightseeing while she is in the city.
“Each time I visit South Africa I have to go to Soweto and spend time with the kids. My foundation works closely with Habitat for Humanity, so we will be doing some stuff while we’re here.”
The multi-award-winning Queen of Funk is also looking forward to seeing an old friend – singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
“We are planning to have a nice dinner on Sunday night together. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Having visited South Africa several times, the 63-year-old singer says she had a close relationship with Nelson Mandela.
“I was good friends with Mandela. In fact I use to visit him all the time at his home when I came here.”
Despite largely being a vegetarian, Khan says there is one meat dish in South Africa that she simply cannot resist.
“I just love oxtail soup.”
“While I am, for the most part, vegetarian, I cannot resist oxtail soup – I just have to have it.”
While she is looking forward to exploring the country, Khan says she is excited about reconnecting with her South African fans when she performs on stage this afternoon.
“My South African fans can expect a damn good show,” said Khan.
“I’ll definitely be performing my song Clouds, because I know everyone loves it here. Other than that, I have a set list that pretty much covers my entire career.”
Saturday Star