All About Lenny Kravitz

A Composer at Heart at Age 7

Some musicians develop a taste for music at an early age, and for little Lenny Kravitz at 7 years old, it’s a serious matter. While all his classmates are focused on school, friends, and games in the playground, he has only one obsession: to compose his first song. This is how his first track, "I love you, baby", comes to life.

A piece born from a unique encounter for Lenny: his father, Seymour Kravitz, a filmmaker and producer, allows him to meet a giant of music, aka the genius pianist Duke Ellington.

“When he took me on his lap, in front of the piano, I knew I wanted to become a musician” - Lenny Kravitz

And it’s safe to say that having the chance to meet, thanks to his father, talents like Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bobby Short, only makes pursuing a career in music even more appealing! A thought that will never leave Lenny, who is determined to dive headfirst into this career.

Mobile Recording Studio, So No Opportunity is Missed

It’s well-known: many artists - if not the majority of them - work and record their albums in studios. While some have their own equipment, Lenny Kravitz, on the other hand, has decided to go much further.

To ensure he doesn’t miss any good ideas, the artist has had a mobile recording studio that is ultra-modern built, which he never parts with. The goal? To capture ideas as spontaneously as possible, no matter where he is in the world. That’s why some of his tracks, unbeknownst to many, were conceived in hotels or in concert green rooms. Quite practical when you know that Lenny, in addition to owning several planes, also pilots them!

Prince as an Idol, Madonna Brings Him Success

Sometimes, it just takes one meeting for everything to change. While we previously mentioned Duke Ellington, there is one encounter that profoundly marked Kenny Kravitz, and that is with Prince. Let’s set the context: we are in the 80s, and at that time, Kravitz is still an unknown musician, trying his best to make a name for himself on the music scene. But one evening, he gets the opportunity of a lifetime: to play guitar for Prince at an event in Los Angeles.

It’s a shock: on one hand, he finds in the artist a source of inspiration that will never leave him, and on the other hand, he finds in Prince a true friend. It’s no surprise that the two men would remain inseparable, and why Lenny Kravitz paid an emotional tribute after his death in 2017.

However, it wasn’t until the early 90s that Lenny Kravitz finally saw his career take off, thanks to another star of the time: Madonna. Indeed, the queen of pop called on him for her song "Justify My Love", and it became a massive hit. The track reached number 1 in the United States and number 2 in France. A resounding success that allowed the artist to gain recognition from the general public, who two years later would produce the album of a young French singer, who was also his girlfriend at the time: Vanessa Paradis.

An Unforgettable Super Bowl

Many artists have attempted the legendary and unmissable Super Bowl halftime performance. Among them, big names in music such as Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, and Michael Jackson.

Yet it is indeed Lenny Kravitz, streamable on Rock Ballad by AllZic Radio, who had one of the most-watched shows of all time. His performance in 2015 with Katy Perry drew nearly 118.5 million viewers. A figure that demonstrates the magnitude of the legend he is, for those who still doubted it.

Fashion Icon

While the musician shines through his music, his sense of style has not gone unnoticed, especially by the luxury house Yves Saint Laurent, which chose him as its muse in 2020, the year the singer became the global ambassador for the fragrance "Y".

It was a natural fit for the artist, who has always been a great admirer of the fashion house, as he revealed that his mother wore Yves Saint Laurent's creations and perfumes, which nurtured his love for the brand from a young age. Thus, it was only natural for the artist to accept this collaboration, explaining how important fragrance is to him, as he explained in an interview with GQ.

"Fragrance is an accessory, an extension of who you are as a living being. True confidence, true beauty, must come from within. [...] It’s the final touch, the cherry on top, if you will. Yes, it’s an element of confidence." - Lenny Kravitz