Lenny Kravitz on the Moment Before He Hits the Stage: ‘Heart Rate Is Low and Mind Is Clear’

There aren’t many people who can pull off the whole “enigmatic rock star” persona these days. Lenny Kravitz, who turns 62 today, is one of them. He’s got the look: the sunglasses, the leather pants, the hair. He’s got the homes around the world: in the Bahamas, the highlands of Brazil, and Paris. And he’s got the charisma: that swagger and charm that have powered him through a four-decade career that’s still going strong.

What he doesn’t have is much interest in courting paparazzi photos, oversharing on social media, or spending too much time in the public eye. Just the other night, he made an unexpected appearance courtside during game 1 of the New York Knicks playoff series, sending the Internet into a tailspin with video clips labeled “aura” and a flurry of flame emojis. Call it the power of Lenny.

When he and I speak over the phone, though, he’s in the Bahamas, at his Gregory Town Sound recording studio situated just 100 feet from the beach in Eleuthera. He’s mid-session, but he sounds unhurried and island paced. Which, as I soon learn, isn’t a reflection of just his location but also of his mindset—wherever he goes.

“The music is the catalyst, but connecting and bringing everyone together, feeling the humanity and the unity—that is what’s important to me. And that requires me to be open and calm.”Mark Seliger

The occasion of our conversation is The Hour Before, a new campaign series from Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre built around the unseen moments that precede greatness, the quiet work that fans typically never get to witness. I ask him what it’s like the hour before a big show.

“Heart rate is low and mind is clear,” he says. The stage, the crowd, the spectacle of it all comes after. “The music is the catalyst,” he says, “but connecting and bringing everyone together, feeling the humanity and the unity—that is what’s important to me. And that requires me to be open and calm.”

It wasn’t always this way, he admits. When he was in his 20s, the wrong energy in a room could throw him off. “You learn over time how to block those things out, how to put up boundaries so that you can center yourself and not let the elements control you,” he says. He traces this ethos back to his grandfather, who emphasized the invisible work. “You can build this big, fancy, beautiful house,” Kravitz says, “but if the foundation—the part you can’t see—is not strong, it will tumble.”

“You can build this big, fancy, beautiful house, but if the foundation—the part you can’t see—is not strong, it will tumble.”Mark Seliger

The campaign isn’t the only thing on Kravitz’s packed docket. He’s been breadcrumbing new album teasers on Instagram since January. He heads to Europe in June for a run of live shows and festivals kicking off in Florence. I ask him about his music—and the role style plays when it comes to performing.

“The people I admired growing up had great style and great music, whether you were the Jackson Five or Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis or Led Zeppelin,” he says. And his own aesthetic? “It’s just very instinctual and organic to what I am and who I am,” he says. “It blends elegance, rock ’n’ roll, and soul.” But there’s rigor to it too.

“Working creatively on anything—whether it be music or architecture or photography or whatever—I have a good amount of discipline,” he says. “Same thing with my health and wellness, taking care of my body.”

“The people I admired growing up had great style and great music, whether you were the Jackson Five or Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis or Led Zeppelin.”Mark Seliger

Makes sense, then, that he’d be drawn to a watchmaking brand renowned for its attention to detail and iconic design sense. Kravitz has been an official ambassador for Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2023, so he’s had time to dig into the Swiss marque’s 193-year history. And he’s decided that, of the many important watches JLC has released, the Reverso speaks to him the most. With a rectangular art deco design and a rotating case that can flip entirely around, it was initially created for polo players who wanted to protect their watches’ crystals from getting smashed up during play. Now you can take your pick of models that either reveal a sturdy metal case back or an entirely different face on the reverse.

“I love the duality of it,” Kravitz says. “It’s discreet yet powerful, strong with classic lines, and has an interesting history.”

He wears a Reverso throughout the new campaign. In some photos, you might catch that he’s got a world-timer version of it on his wrist. The complication was created for the collector constantly moving across time zones, tracking the hour and minute at multiple locations around the globe. The irony is that his three home bases aren’t so much time zones as they are states of being.

“I love the duality of it,” Kravitz says of the Reverso. “It’s discreet yet powerful, strong with classic lines, and has an interesting history.”Mark Seliger

“My mother was Bahamian, and the ocean is my favorite place to be—it’s where I create,” he says, speaking from that exact shore. Paris scratches the itch for city life and all its trappings. “It gives me what I need when I’m there: fashion, culinary experiences, the layout, and the design.” And Brazil is where he is able to vanish entirely. A farm in the mountains to ride horses, herd cattle, and grow fruit and vegetables. “They all feed a different part of me,” he says.

So where does Kravitz—a man with a tour on the horizon and a new album taking shape—go to search for fresh inspiration? “Mexico City, man,” he says without hesitation. “The art, the architecture, the food, everything. I think it’s my favorite city right now.” A pause. “Beside where I live in Paris.”

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