Lenny Kravitz Says the Jackson 5 Were ‘Young Black Rock Stars’ Who Inspired Him: ‘Everything Was Perfection’ (Exclusive)

Lenny Kravitz praises the Jackson 5 not only for the influence they had on him, but also for the way they set the standard when it came to honing their craft.

Speaking with PEOPLE for the cover of Black History Month, the “Fly Away” singer, 59, recalls the first time he saw Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, Marlon Jackson and Jackie Jackson — the five young siblings from born from humble beginnings in Gary, Indiana, who would go on to dominate the music industry.

The Jackson 5 in the 1970s.

Michael Ochs/Getty Archive

“Rock and roll is something that means a lot to me, an art form, and it’s something that took me over from the age of 5,” Kravitz told PEOPLE after admitting that he considers himself an “artist” more than a “rock star.”

He continued, “I’m going to see the Jackson 5 at Madison Square Garden for the first time. They were rock stars.”

Hunger Games actor recalled what it was like to witness the “I Want You Back” hitmakers on stage long before he became an award-winning artist himself, sitting in the audience as a small boy from New York.

The Jackson 5 performing on a TV show circa 1971.

Michael Ochs/Getty Archive

“These were young black rock stars who were doing it with all their might. The art form, the music, the singing, the choreography, the fashion, everything was perfect. So dynamic and that’s what got me. And so I’m proud to be a part of that lineage,” Kravitz said.

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When the Jackson 5 started, the youngest member (and lead singer) Michael was only 6 years old. He would eventually become known as the King of Pop before his sudden death on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50.

During his cover story interview with PEOPLE, Kravitz, never one to shy away from being an open book, expressed the struggles he faced when it came time to make his mark in music.

Lenny Kravitz for PEOPLE.

Melody McDaniel

“I was told that my music wasn’t black enough or that it wasn’t white enough,” he recalled when he began trying to get record labels and industry executives to listen to his recordings.

His late mother, The Jeffersons star Roxie Roker, was American from the Bahamas, while his father, NBC producer Sy Kravitz, was Ukrainian Jewish.

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The “American Woman” singer said he was being pushed to “make a choice” about his style, “but I never did.”

Specifically, Kravitz said, “I was told that I had to make music that black people were making commercially that was on the radio so you would have success. And I just couldn’t take any of that. I was going to make the music that I made.”

Lenny Kravitz on the cover of PEOPLE.

Melody McDaniel

However, it was a different story when he was in the company of the people who raised him.

“No one in my circle ever said ‘You have to choose or you should choose,'” Kravitz said.

Eventually, Kravitz found a home with Virgin Records, where he released his first eight studio albums.

“I wasn’t going to sign a contract where people would tell me what to do, and I finally found people who believed in me and I went there,” added the “Are You Gonna Go My Way” performer.

For more on Lenny Kravitz’s life and other Black History Month stories, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

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