DJ Flow x Chaka Khan "Conversations in Music" (May 2026)
On May 20 I had the honor of opening the Chaka Khan "Conversations in Music" event at the Henry J. Kaiser Center in Oakland. One of the most beautiful theaters in the Bay Area, and one night I won't forget.
What I was asked to do
I was brought in to play an all-vinyl set as concert goers walked in and filled the theatre before the show. Funk and soul from the 70s and 80s, setting the room up for what was about to happen. Then I was invited to stay involved throughout the evening, playing Chaka Khan music during the conversation she was having with host and filmmaker Chann Berry about her life, career, and the lessons she's carried over the decades.
Two different roles in one night. The opening set was mine to shape. The second part was about being in service to the moment, reading the room, and knowing when to play and when to let it breathe.
Why this night was different
A traditional concert is a performance. This was something else. Hearing Chaka Khan talk about her life in real time, the stories, the wisdom, the realness behind five decades of music, that's not something you get very often. She performed songs live throughout the evening and every time she opened her mouth the room shifted.
But the moment that will stick with me the longest happened during "Pain."
It's from her later catalog, and there's a section in the song where it breaks into a jazz and swing feel with Chaka scatting over the music. Up to that point she had been ad libbing and singing over her recorded vocals as I played the tracks. When we got to that section I made a call. I stemmed out her recorded vocals and let just the instrumental play, so the room could hear her scatting over the track live, in real time, nothing between her voice and the audience.
That was the moment. Chaka Khan, live, over the music, in a room full of people who understood exactly what they were witnessing. You can't plan for something like that. You just have to be ready when it comes.
My set + Chaka Favorites Playlist
Below is the full recording of my opening set, all vinyl, funk and soul from the 70s and 80s. The tracklist covers a lot of ground — Marvin Gaye, Prince, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Melissa Morgan, The Jones Girls, George Benson, Michael Wycoff, Faze-O, Alicia Meyers, Carl Carlton, Patrice Rushen and more. I also put together a bonus Chaka favorites playlist that includes everything I had cued up and played throughout her conversation and performance. If you were there and want to relive it, or if you missed it and want to feel what the room felt like, start there.
