Just when it seemed like New Orleans had regained its spirit following the devastating Hurricane Katrina, the oil spill happens.  “I care about this planet, I care about nature, I care about the ecosystem,” proclaims Lenny, “I believe God gave us a beautiful world and it saddens me when this happens.”

In Louisiana, the $2.4 billion seafood industry is taking a hard hit.  It has been hard for local fisherman and restaurant owners alike, who have noticed a decrease in supply of mussels, clams and especially oysters.  To battle the shortage, Louisiana has been focusing on protecting its marshlands.

Kravitz is just one of many who sees the threat as personal, “At the end of the day, this is a very special place.  It needs to be preserved for the ecology and for ourselves, the people, that’s our duty.  We have to keep this place beautiful and right now we have a big problem and we have to clean it up, so that’s what we need to focus on.”

Keep checking back for the latest Lenny Kravitz news.

Kravitz will be joining U2 on June 3, 6, 7 and 12, which are the first four dates of U2’s six-week run. U2 will also have supporting acts The Fray and Interpol later on in their tour.

After wrapping up the 360 Tour, Kravitz will get back to work on his upcoming funk/rock album, “Negrophilia.”

A New York Magazine article states that the album is named after a book Kravitz read about “the intense, often fetishistic fascination the French have with black artists.”

“When I made my first album, the Americans didn’t know what to do with me,” he told the magazine. “Here’s a black Jew, light-skinned, he’s not doing hip-hop. I didn’t fit in any box, because America’s all about formats, and Paris was one of the first places I went. And they accepted me, like being Josephine Baker or any jazz artist or whoever.”

However, it’s no wonder that he’s having a rough time, because he’s supposebly been involved with beautiful women like Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue.

His first and only marriage was to actress Lisa Bonet. They were married for five years. Since then he’s been through a series of romances and engagements, but hasn’t had anything lasting since his marriage to Bonet fell apart in 1993.

Dubbed the “LLR 20 (09)” tour, Kravitz has been paying live tribute to the album that put him the musical map back in 1988. The outing will kick off with five nights in NYC at Fillmore New York At Irving Plaza and concludes with a headlining spot at the Voodoo Experience Festival in New Orleans.

Stops in between include Warner Theater in DC, the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, and The Tabernacle in Atlanta. Any opening acts are still to be named.

If you’re vacationing on the old continent this summer, you can catch Lenny at the Festival De Poupet in Saint Malo du Bois, France  on July 8th, at the Lucca Summer Festival in Lucca Italy on 7/11, two other festivals in France on 7/15 and 7/17, and the BW-Bank Jazzopen Festival in Stuttgart, Germany on 7/19. 

How cool would it be to see Lenny in Europe?!

In a statement posted online the eve of the confirmation of Jackson’s demise, Kravitz wrote, “There will never be another talent like Michael Jackson. Many people say what a performer, what an icon…. They speak about the controversy and countless other things. But the truth of the matter is he was a boy that God blessed with the most angelic voice…. He was a beautiful human being. I am deeply saddened this evening.”