STILL LETTING LOVE RULE

THE ROCK STAR REFLECTS ON THE BEAUTY OF ALWAYS FOLLOWING HIS HEART, BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND LIVING LIFE ON HIS OWN TERMS

- JANINE RUBENSTEIN

Lenny Kravitz has always been comfortable in his skin, but these days he's especially cozy. "Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, I've actually never felt better in my life," he says.

"It's sort of amazing to me that I could be where I am now and feel fresh and hungry and inspired." In the moment he's also feeling a bit cold, given that the sun refused to shine for his People photo shoot in the mountains of Malibu on Jan. 17. But the chilly day didn't stop Kravitz from frolicking through a nearby field with delight, as cool as ever. "This is who God created me to be," he says when asked about the best part of being a bona fide rock star.

"I'm just trying to walk in that destiny." As destiny would have it, the ageless musician and actor will turn 60 in May, in a year that also marks the 35th anniversary of his star-making debut album, Let Love Rule.

"It seems like lifetimes ago, but then again, it seems like yesterday," says s Kravitz, who prides himself on following his rock and roll dreams, despite early naysayers who felt that, as a Black artist, he didn't fit the bill. "I was told my music wasn't Black enough or wasn't White enough," says the New York City native, whose late mom, The Jeffersons actress Roxie Roker, was Bahamian American, while his dad, NBC producer Sy Kravitz, was Ukrainian Jewish. When it came to the eclectic musical interests he pursued, "[record labels] said I had to make a choice, but I never did."