Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz

What is it about?

Lenny Kravitz chronicles the first 25 years of his life, from his early childhood in New York to his first record deal in 1989.

OK, but what is it really about?

Lenny Kravitz is many things: American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor and designer. Now, he can add writer to his long list of accomplishments; in his memoir, aptly named after his first record and the motto that has guided him through life, Let Love Rule, he looks back at his life with the right amount of frankness and humour: he remembers the people who shaped him and the music that influenced him.

Is it any good?

Lenny Kravitz was my first love in music. Sometimes, when you take a walk down memory lane and remember certain things you did, clothes you wore, boys you had crushes on and songs you listened to, you can’t help but feel embarrassed and ask yourself, what the hell was I thinking? But this was never the case with Lenny Kravitz. I still listen to his music today, and his songs and lyrics inspire me.

So, when I read the news that he was going to publish a memoir, I didn’t need to think twice about pre-ordering it – and I was really excited when the book arrived by mail in early October. As a fan, I already knew some things about Lenny Kravitz’s background and the different stages of his life and career, but in this book, he dives deep into memories of his childhood, youth and young adulthood – guided by the shining light that was his mother, TV star Roxie Roker. Lenny Kravitz’s relationship with his father was far more complicated, but with the gift of hindsight and the wisdom that can only come with age, the musician finds conciliating words for Sy Kravitz. This book is as much a love letter to his mother as it is a manifest of appreciation and understanding for his father. (Lenny Kravitz did, in fact, confirm in interviews that he and his father were able to make peace with each other shortly before Sy Kravitz passed away in 2005 after battling leukemia).

The reader is introduced to the most important people in Lenny Kravitz’s life: his parents, his grandparents, his godmothers, his friends and girlfriends, and eventually, his first wife Lisa Bonet and daughter Zoe Kravitz. As we enter his world and follow him from New York to California, we also bear witness to his musical journey.

Lenny Kravitz is a seeker, a searcher. Even as a child and teenager, he was restless: always looking to embark on his next adventure, to try something new, to discover and explore his spiritual side, and most importantly, to find his voice and his sound. Growing up, he listens to different music genres, all of which influence him in a different way. He dabbles with funk, soul, pop, rock ‘n’ roll, hip hop and even classical music – this diversity of sound finds its way into his own efforts at making music and is mainly responsible for the fact that as a musician, he could never be pigeon-holed or classified in just one genre. It’s what has made him so unique throughout his career.

Most memorable quote?

“I am deeply two-sided: Black and white, Jewish and Christian, Manhattinite and Brooklynite. So, I accepted my Gemini soul. I owned it. I adored it. Ying and yangs mingled in various parts of my heart and mind, giving me balance and fuelling my curiosity and comfort.”

Conclusion?

There was no question that – as a lifelong Lenny Kravitz fan – his memoir would find a special place on my already overcrowded book shelf. And as the last sentence of this book is “To be continued…”, there is most definitely more to come, and I will most definitely pre-order again, because I’m nothing if not fiercely loyal.

In addition to finding out more about Lenny Kravitz’s early years, I also learned something: you can be “deeply two-sided”, as he describes it, and still be at ease. I have struggled with this feeling of being neither here, nor there for many years. It’s refreshing to see that others are not only capable of accepting this “life of opposites” as a given, but fully embrace and revel in it. When I finished the book, my first thought was: Be more like Lenny, Katrin.

And, a little tip to other Lenny Kravitz fans who might read this: Let Love Rule is also available as audiobook. If you don’t have the time or energy to read this memoir, go for the audiobook. Since I am very much in love with the sexiness that is Lenny Kravitz’s voice, I might just go ahead and do that, too. I’m pretty sure it’ll be 18 Euros well spent.

AT A GLANCE

Title: Let Love Rule

Author: Lenny Kravitz (with David Ritz)

Published by: Sphere (2020)

Pages: 272

Language: English