We Catch Up With Lalah Hathaway

 It was really time. I was always someone who enjoyed hair. And if you go through the internet and look at pictures of me from 1990 to now, I’ve had everything. I’ve had blue hair and purple locs. I’ve had blond straight hair. I’ve had red curly hair. I really love to play with looks. It was also getting progressively harder to braid the locs down and put them under wigs. So, I just gave myself a little refresh.

Your younger sister, Kenya, is a singer as well, and you both paid tribute to your Dad at the Grammys in 2019. What was that experience like for you?

 I mean, it was just a glorious moment for me. Even though [Black folks] know what my Dad means to the culture, some of these wider, bigger places have not said what they need to say. So, I felt like the Grammys did a beautiful job of saying, here’s a voice that has lasted through time and will continue to last through time. I was really pleased that they allowed us to participate because everything is so political. So, I was really proud to be able to say, “Oh, wow, this is such an honor. My mother is here, and this is great. My nieces can see this, and it just meant the world to my family.” And [my Dad] deserved it. In my mind, it was long overdue.

A while back, you also did an orchestral tribute to your father at Lincoln Center in New York City. Do you plan to do more tributes?

 Yeah, I would like to. I’ve done [the tribute] in Europe many times. And at some point, I would like to make a record of those things. I think the material is so timeless and so beautiful. It’s going to last forever. And so, it’s important to me with the legacy that I have, with the blessings that I have, to take that music forward.

I can relate to the artists who came before me, which is why I love doing covers and singing those songs. And I’m always also trying to figure out what’s on the horizon for me going forward. I’m happy to be a bridge for the people who knew and love my father, and for the people who will discover and love my father. Because every year, [the song] “This Christmas” just will not go away, you know? I’m happy to take that [song] into the future and take him into the future with me.

“This Christmas” is a holiday staple. When you perform and hear that song, what does it mean to you?

 It absolutely means Christmas. You know how we hear Mariah Carey, and we know, okay, it’s the start of the season. If she is the queen of Christmas. Donny Hathaway is absolutely the king of Christmas.

I read that your Mom used to give your Dad vocal notes. Has she influenced you as a singer?

Absolutely. My Mom’s a beautiful singer. But, you know, growing up the child of two educated singers, I feel like I’m a good balance of nature and nurture. [My Mom] definitely gives notes. She’s a note-giver. She has notes about, you know, enunciation and about placement, and I cherish all of that. I have learned so much from both of my parents just by listening to them sing.

 Prince was one of your favorite artists, and you got to perform with him. What was it like sharing space with the Artist?

 It’s really hard to describe. I have had a few moments in my life that feel like clarion moments, like full-circle moments, where somebody that, at age 11 or 13, I was listening to on my Walkman on the way to school, I am now working with, and that was absolutely one of those moments. It’s a spiritual manifestation, a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. You know, all my life I thought, “Oh, one day I’m gonna sing with Prince. Oh, one day I’m gonna sing with Herbie Hancock. One day I’m going to sing with Anita Baker.” And I have really been blessed. It has really been a blessing to work with so many of the people who mentored me musically before I even knew them, before I met them.

How have you evolved as an artist?

I think when I was 20 or whatever, I could not even imagine all the places that music would take me, all the places I would be able to go and the people I would be able to meet and the folks that I would be able to sing in front of.

So, I think I have musically evolved. I’ve learned more. You know, my thoughts are different, the world around me is different. But in a lot of ways, I’m still the same girl. I’m still excited about music every day. I’m still excited to make a playlist for my car. I’m still a nerd. I still want to know who played on the records. You know who played the keys.

You have a lot of cool collaborators on Vantablack, including Willow and Michael McDonald. How did you decide to work with those people?

I try to stay around people that I think are great. I feel like that greatness rubs off on me. I learn something every time. You know, I really love the fact that the record, again, is like a bridge. Willow is great, and she is going to be a monster. We also have Gerald Albright [and] Michael McDonald. I’m so in the past and in the future musically, that it felt good to include all of these different types of great [artists].

Would you say that’s a product of being a Gen X-er? We can listen to music from our parents’ generation, our own music, and current-day stuff, too.

I think so. Like, if I make a playlist to ride my bike or go roller-skate, I have Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Michael Jackson on it. It may also feature Thundercat, Willow, and Tyler, the Creator. [There are] probably more deejays in [Generation X] than in any other generation.

What do you like to do for self-care? For fun?

 I’m a bike rider. I like to cook. I play video games. I’m a techie. I’m into computers, cars, and things that light up. I love a good movie. I love sneaking away with my girls to hang for a weekend.

We don’t read much about your personal life. Are you married?

My personal life is super regular. I’ve never been married. But my guy is with me everywhere. He manages for me, and we’ve been together for almost 17 years. But it’s cool. I’m glad to just exist in my little world.

Where do you call home?

 I have lived in Los Angeles since 1990, since my [first] record came out. [In my 20s] it wasn’t where I wanted to be. I wanted to go to New York because all my friends were going there. I thought I was a jazz musician and that’s where I needed to be. But the West Coast is so home to me now, it is crazy. I love all my friends. I love the history of Black people in Los Angeles. You know, I really love Compton. I love L.A. in a way that I never thought would be possible for me.

What do you know about yourself now at age 56 that you didn’t know at age 36 or 46?

What I know now about myself is that my age doesn’t define me, even though people call [attention] to it a lot. The way I look doesn’t define me. Folks always come up to me and say, “Girl, you’re aging backward. You look so young. You look skinny.” But there’s so much focus on the superfluous parts of who we are, like age or what our hair is.

I have always been surrounded by elders [like] Marcus Miller [and the late] Joe Sample. I always thought of us as on the same time continuum, if that makes sense. Like I was just with Chaka Khan in Switzerland to do a Quincy Jones tribute [and she’s] 72. But nobody thinks about that because Chaka doesn’t [project] that.

I know now that there’s something timeless inside of me. I’m always going to feel young. I’m always going to want to be the greatest. I’m always going to want to play with the kids, you know what I mean? I think I’m just coming into myself more and more every day. And that, for me, is an evolution.

*This interview has been edited for clarity.