Artist
Lenny Kravitz
Why we feature this artist A groove that keeps the guitar honest Lenny Kravitz’s music draws freely from rock, funk and soul, with the rhythm often doing as much to establish a song as the guitar riff. The records can feel richly textured while staying anchore…
- From
- United States
- Sound
- rock, soul, psychedelic rock
- Active
- 1984–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Lenny Kravitz
Why we feature this artist
A groove that keeps the guitar honest
Lenny Kravitz’s music draws freely from rock, funk and soul, with the rhythm often doing as much to establish a song as the guitar riff. The records can feel richly textured while staying anchored to a clear melodic idea. His voice gives those familiar musical colours an individual grain and a particular sense of urgency.
The first records establish a flexible identity
Let Love Rule appeared in 1989, introducing Kravitz as a writer, performer and producer with a strong interest in the sound of a recording itself. The title track opens into a communal refrain, while other songs make different uses of the groove. Mama Said followed in 1991, with It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over giving the voice a particularly warm, sustained soul setting.
Are You Gonna Go My Way in 1993 turns the guitar riff into an immediate point of orientation. The force of the title song can dominate the first impression, but the wider catalogue keeps moving between heavier rock and more restrained melodic material. The different approaches belong together rather than requiring a choice of one permanent style.
The sound reaches another audience
5 in 1998 brought songs including Fly Away and I Belong to You into the same album. One is built around an emphatic rhythmic figure; the other gives the voice a more relaxed, spacious frame. Later records continued to vary the balance of guitar weight, electronic detail and soul-influenced phrasing. Kravitz’s 1990s music remained a familiar presence throughout the following decade, sitting naturally beside both rock bands and rhythm-led pop. The most rewarding return is to follow the instrumental relationships. A short guitar phrase can work like a vocal response, a bass figure can determine the whole mood and a restrained line can make the next fuller entrance feel much larger.
Essential releases
Let Love Rule
The debut introduces the broad musical vocabulary and Kravitz’s attention to the sound of the whole recording, with the title track offering a clear first entry.
Are You Gonna Go My Way
The title song foregrounds the force of a concise guitar riff, while the album gives that rock setting other melodic and rhythmic perspectives.
5
Fly Away and I Belong to You make an especially useful pair, showing how the voice and groove work in both emphatic and more spacious arrangements.