Lenny Kravitz "felt nauseous" when he was presented with his first record contract because he knew it wasn't right.
After trying to land a record deal in the '80s, the Fly Away singer was finally presented with a lucrative contract that promised him all the opportunities and resources he hoped for - however, he would have to give up creative control of his music.
"When the guy wanted me to sign the contract, I felt nauseous. Something inside of me just said 'I can't,'" Kravitz recalled to Highsnobiety. "Up until that point, I was sitting there in the meetings taking this all in, but when it came time to do it, my spirit would not allow me to."
The American Woman hitmaker followed his gut instinct and turned down the contract. He eventually found a deal that allowed him to retain creative control and he released his debut album, Let Love Rule, in 1989.
"I never gave up on my own vision of myself. That's one of the things I'm most proud of," he added. "If I would've taken those deals, I believe I wouldn't be sitting here right now."
And while the 59-year-old has been in the music business for more than 30 years, he still feels like "a teenager" when he steps into the recording studio.
"It is still magical to me," he gushed. "Every time I go into a studio, I still feel the excitement I felt when I was a teenager."
