INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Chaka Khan Checks Into Drug Rehab Three Months After The Death Of Her Close Friend Prince

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 04:24 PST, Jul 10, 2016

Chaka Khan is getting the help she needs for her addiction to prescription pain medication. Khan has canceled her show at the California State Fair as well as all of her other scheduled concert performances through the end of July after announcing she has checked into rehab for prescription drug addiction, according to a report by the Sacramento Bee.

A Cal Expo spokesman revealed that Chaka Khan has entered into an addiction rehabilitation and aftercare program at an undisclosed location to treat her addiction to prescription pain medication. Singer Jody Watley featuring Shalamar Reloaded will perform in Chaka Khan’s place at the fair.

In a statement posted by the Modesto Bee, a rep for Chaka stated that the 63-year-old 10-time Grammy winner has voluntarily entered the program “to get healthy and stay that way.”

Chaka Khan, aka the Queen of Funk, shot to fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman for the funk group Rufus, then she went on to solo success with the songs “I’m Every Woman” and “I Feel for You” in the ’80s. In 1984, Chaka began a close friendship with Prince while recording a cover of the latter song, which the late music icon penned. Khan won a Grammy Award for the single, and continued to be a close friend and musical collaborator with Prince right up until his death in April.

After Prince died, Chaka Khan posted a poignant tribute to him, which included a throwback photo of the two of them.

Prince reportedly adored Chaka, and the feeling was definitely mutual. Shortly after Prince’s death, Khan told Dazed Digital that there will never be anyone else like him.

“Prince was not of this planet,” Chaka said. “He was a true innovator, a magic miracle. I still don’t believe he is gone.”

Prince died of a prescription drug overdose after a long battle with prescription pain medication addiction that stemmed from the chronic pain he suffered due to hip injury years ago. Chaka Khan’s reps have not revealed the cause for the R&B music legend’s medication addiction, but Chaka has been vocal in the past about her struggles with drugs and alcohol and has also been in rehab before.

Chaka Khan previously told the Daily Mail that she had a near-death experience after a massive cocaine binge when she was working with funk band Rufus in the 1970s. Chaka credits her now ex-husband, Richard Holland, with saving her life by calling 911 when she passed out in his Laurel Canyon home.

“I was having trouble getting any sleep and I was very depressed,” Chaka said. “I came back home one morning and took a heavy-duty sleeping pill. It didn’t work so I took another one. The next thing I know, I’m in an ambulance, getting my stomach pumped, and they told me that I nearly died.”

In the same interview, Chaka Khan revealed that her manager once told me her she was worth more money dead than alive due to her drug use.

“It was probably the truth,” Khan admitted. “I was using drugs and I was getting pretty high all the time. I think he even had an insurance policy out on me. His bet was that I wasn’t going to make it.”

Chaka Khan survived the ’70s, but sadly, her drug problems are still haunting her. With the death of her longtime friend Prince less than three months ago, Chaka Khan is now taking care of herself before it’s too late.

Take a look at the video below to see Chaka Khan talking about her struggles with addiction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQdo1hOJfdg

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation]

Share this article: Chaka Khan Checks Into Drug Rehab Three Months After The Death Of Her Close Friend Prince
More from Inquisitr