In the late '80s, Kravitz relocated back to New York City, where one of his roommates turned out to be actress Lisa Bonet (who played Denise Huxtable on "The Cosby Show"); they eventually got married.  During this time, Kravitz wisely discarded his Prince-like approach and looked back to such '60s/'70s classic rockers as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, and the Beatles for inspiration.  Kravitz found a kindred spirit in engineer Henry Hirsch (who would stick by Kravitz throughout his career).  With a back-to-basics approach, his style was quite refreshing in the humorously gaudy late '80s.  He inked a recording contract with Virgin Records and issued his debut release, Let Love Rule, in 1989.  Kravitz's debut proved to be a surprise hit due to the success of the title track, which became a minor hit single and oft-aired video.  A few critics were quick to assume that Kravitz's retro look and sound were simply a gimmick to get the public's attention, but come the '90s, it had become integrated into the mainstream (both musically and fashion-wise), proving that Kravitz was a bit of a trendsetter.  It was around this time that Kravitz penned a major hit single, not for himself but for Madonna, who went to Number One in 1990 with the sultry track "Justify My Love."

What should have been a time of happiness for Kravitz quickly turned sour, as he and Bonet divorced by the early '90s. Kravitz's heartbreak was very evident in his sophomore effort, Mama Said, which was even stronger than its predecessor, highlighted by the Led Zep-like funk rocker "Always on the Run" (a collaboration with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash) as well as the megahit Curtis Mayfield-esque soul ballad "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," which confirmed that Kravitz's success was no fluke.

But the best was yet to come for Kravitz.  His third release, 1993's Are You Gonna Go My Way, is often considered to be the finest album front to back of his entire career, and with good reason:  every single song was a winner, including the uptempo, anthemic title track, which turned out to be one of MTV's most played videos for that year.  The album was a massive hit and Kravitz became an arena headliner stateside, as well as being featured on countless magazine covers.

Despite an almost two-year gap between albums, Kravitz's fourth release, Circus, came off sounding unfocused and was a major letdown compared to his stellar previous few releases.  Perhaps sensing that he needed to stir things up musically, Kravitz dabbled with electronics and trip-hop loops for his next album, 1998's 5.  Although not a huge hit right off the bat, the album proved to have an incredibly long chart life, spawning the biggest multi-format American radio hit of Kravitz's career, "Fly Away," almost a year after its original release.  With the single's success, Virgin decided to cash in on the album's sudden rebirth by reissuing it around the same time with a pair of extra added bonus tracks, one of which became another sizeable hit single, a remake of the Guess Who's "American Woman" (which was used in the hit 1999 comedy movie "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"). 

Kravitz's first best-of set, the 15-track Greatest Hits, was issued as a stopgap release in 2000, while his sixth studio release overall, Lenny, was issued a year later.  In addition to his own albums, Kravitz continues to pen songs for other artists.  His compositions have appeared on albums by such rock heavyweights as Aerosmith and Mick Jagger, while he produced and wrote the majority of Vanessa Paradis' obscure self-titled 1992 release.

source:  Greg Prato, All Music Guide