On September 18, the legendary Chaka Khan will release her new album. She chose to name it ‘Chakzilla,’ and three singles have already given us a preview: the title track, a collaboration with Snoop Dogg that might seem dispensable even though it’s likely to pull the most streams, and a superb ‘Curious Subject,’ which is our Song of the Day for this Sunday.
Co-written by Chaka Khan alongside Sia and Greg Kurstin (as with the other previews), it is the strongest collaboration between the two writers in recent times. Greg Kurstin was involved in Wolf Alice’s massive album last year, among other things, but Sia had been off the mark for a while and Chaka Khan hadn’t released an album in seven years.
Built on a disco-funk foundation, the track begins with the notion of feeling “a curious subject” only to conclude that “we all are.” Khan explains that both her therapist and her family and friends tell her she gets involved in too many things. They make her feel odd, but the sentiment soon becomes a shared one.
With eighties-inspired synths, piano nuances, and, of course, an irresistible vocal delivery, ‘Curious Subject’ returns us to the artist who conquered the eighties with ‘Ain’t Nobody’ and ‘Through the Fire.’ The latter has recently been revived in a COLORS Session, just as this excellent new song has, which was released this Friday.
The 10-track album will include a song featuring Sia, ‘Cool U Down,’ and another with Lenny Kravitz, ‘Bring the Party.’
