The Rock star has encountered a lot of difficulties throughout his career. Not being able to put a label on himself, Kravitz struggled because he did not want to be put in a box. "I was not white enough, I was not black enough, I fell in the middle. Who are you, what are you, what is this music. You can not be black and play rock and roll, although black people invented rock and roll. Very strange things. But at the end of the day, it is just music, it is just music. It is not a big deal. It is something that certain people have a talent for. It is meant to be enjoyed, it is meant for expression, it is meant for celebration. And at the end of the day, I am just doing what I feel. I am doing what comes natural to me", Kravitz said.
The 43 year old who was born in Brooklyn New York put his experience of a very strained relationship with his father, Russian-Jewish TV producer Sy Kravitz into one of his most personal songs on the album, called "A long and sad Goodbye". "It was a difficult song for me just because I did not know if my father would handle the song",. Kravitz told Reuters. "I did not know how he would react to it. He actually died and never heard the song. But we made peace before he died which changed everything for both of us. Because he was this very difficult man to communicate with and we had a very difficult relationship but we loved each other. But the song takes on a whole different feeling for me now."
Kravitz finds it more recreational to spend time in the studio recording an album than he finds it to actually stand on stage. "It is basically like painting, you know. You start with the blank canvas and then you have a painting. I have a song, you know. It is the same kind of thing. Because I do it primarily by myself. It is a very peaceful place for me too, when I am in the studio. The entire world goes away. You are in this room and you have no idea what is going on out in the world. It is like a womb."
God, says Kravitz is a great source of inspiration to him. "I can be a person who likes to think he is controlling things. And each day that goes by, I realise I am not in control at all. And it is quite hard to surrender. But at the end of the day, I have to trust god and know that god is looking out for me. And when you do that, things begin to fall in place, as you say." And indeed, Kravitz does seem aeons away from the rebellious rocker he used to be. He appears calm throughout the interview and his smile never fades.
The official European Tour kicks off on Monday, 5th March in Paris, the next stops will be Brussles, followed by London and Lisbon.
