It Is Important That Everybody Engages With ‘Chakzilla’

Not only is Chaka Khan every woman, but she’s also a benevolent monster. Khan just released her new single, “Chakzilla,” with an accompanying music video, and the whole package is an utter delight. Even the title “Chakzilla” is an immediately delightful word to say and paints the picture of a gigantic Chaka Khan towering over skyscrapers. Written with Sia, the lyrics sadly don’t use the word “Chakzilla,” but the chorus does have Khan repeating the phrase “I’m a giant” several times over. In classic Chaka Khan form, it’s a disco bop with a funky groove that anyone’s mom could happily dance to at a wedding. The song is about the problem of looking for a romantic partner who matches your level while being a forever music icon. “Forever my heart aches / ’Cause you’re my equal babe,” Khan sings. She adds, “It was winter and now every day’s summer / I been waiting to get laid in this number.”

But while the song itself is a bop that doesn’t fully grapple with the title, the music video gives into the “Chakzilla” of it all. In it, Khan watches a movie about a giant version of herself arriving in a city that has already been destroyed by a different monster. Instead of further destroying the city, the large Chakzilla rebuilds it through the magic of her presence. “Hope arrives in designer boots,” reads a newspaper headline. Khan herself mostly just lackadaisically walks around, but where she steps, buildings magically come together and cement flies upward to repair the walls. “Chakzilla is good for the city,” a man says. “Putting buildings back together, supporting humanity.” It’s the kind of music-video ridiculousness that modern artists seem scared to indulge in, reminiscent of Missy Elliott’s Halloween classic “Work It” or even the silliness of MGMT’s “Kids.” More Chakzilla fun, please!