Lenny Kravitz, an African-American rock musician, has been criticized for being too derivative, but regardless of that, I still enjoy his music. I saw him live at the Horde Festival, back when he still had dredlocks. He has gained increasing popularity with the MTV crowd due to his cover of the song American Woman for an Austin Powers movie.

Albums
Greatest Hits (2000)
5 (1999)
Circus (1995)
Are You Gonna Go My Way? (1993)
Mama Said (1991)
Let Love Rule (1989)

Random Facts
born: May 26, 1964 in New York City, NY
was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger commercial

Lenny is certainly a talented musician and producer but his rock star posturing and image obsession has consistently stunted his musical creativity. His guitar riff may be kick-ass but some of his lyrics are so lame that even a boy band would pass on them. One example from "Are You Going to Go My Way": We've got to love/and rub-a-dub/We've got to dance and be in love

He has found much success recreating a musical sound pioneered by artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Curtis Mayfield and Velvet Underground and making it palatable for a new generation.

What he has failed at time and time again is fusing these influences into a distinctive style that he can call his own. What the listener is left with is a collection of Kravitz albums that sound completely dissimilar.

As much as Lenny claims that he is a musician and not, as some rock journalists have put it, "the supermodel's favorite accessory"--his extreme image consciousness makes his every overture seem fake, it's like he can't take a shit without the proper lighting, Gucci brand toilet paper and Annie Lebovitz behind the camera.

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