As Black Music Month 2025 continues, I wanted to give flowers to “The Queen of Funk,” Ms. Chaka Khan, for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday. The song I decided to highlight is “Through the Fire.”
The third single from her sixth solo album, “I Feel For You,” the song transcends its designation as a power ballad by delivering an authentic vocal declaration of steadfast love that defined the 1980s. The David Foster-produced track remains an enduring anthem of love that asks its listeners to risk everything.
“Through the Fire” examines the bravery necessary to embrace vulnerability. Foster’s lyrics paint the picture of someone willing to risk their heart entirely: Ms. Khan’s vocal expresses a love that transcends initial attraction because it demonstrates love in its most sacrificial and tested state. Through its lyrics, the song reaches out to people who have faced emotional crossroads by choosing faithfulness over fearfulness and deep connections over mere comfort.
The track demonstrates expert musical techniques that create a dynamic balance between tension and release. Through soft keys and cinematic build-up, Foster’s production creates a commanding stage that Khan rules without difficulty. Her vocal performance transforms the lyrics into living emotion through its combination of satin smoothness and steel strength. Her lower register sounds like a delicate tremble while her high notes carry decisive triumph. Only a select number of singers can deliver the line “Even through the fire” with such depth that it sounds simultaneously like a vow and an entreaty.
Despite not reaching chart-topping heights, the song earned its status as a quiet classic because of its powerful emotional impact. When Kanye West incorporated it into “Through the Wire,” he made Chaka’s voice known to a new audience while demonstrating the enduring value of its message.
“Through the Fire” represents a fundamental exploration of love’s emotional dangers. The song explores the decision to embrace life with all its scars instead of seeking perfect endings. Because of its enduring emotional impact, it maintains its prominence among the greatest R&B torch songs.
Final Grade: A
“Through the Fire” is available on all streaming platforms
My introduction to Nate Dogg goes back to Dr. Dre’s 1992 debut, The Chronic, and the song “Deeez Nuuuts.” Even then, something about Nate’s voice set him apart from everybody else. He wasn’t just singing on rap records. He was bringing soul, gospel, street knowledge, and West Coast cool into the same space. He set the standard for hook singers in hip-hop, and dare I say, he’s still vastly underrated.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to give Stevie Wonder his due as he prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his masterpiece, “Songs in the Key of Life,” on tour. While the easy choice could have been “Knocks Me Off My Feet”—a classic that still resonates fifty years later—I chose “From the Bottom of My Heart,” the second single from his twenty-third studio album, “A Time to Love,” released in 2005.
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.