ABC-7 speaks with mother of El Paso singer Khalid
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 recently had the opportunity to sit down for a one-on-one interview with retired Army Sergeant First Class Linda Wolfe, best known to many of us as the mother of singing sensation Khalid.
Wolf tells ABC-7 that she was an Army brat who wanted to serve her country to find balance in her life.
"I was in a singing group before the Army and we would struggle out there as a lot of singers go through and I just needed some balance in my life," Wolfe said.
She soon discovered the Army life wasn't an easy one.
"There was a lot of struggles. I went in thinking it was a safe place for women... and I found that out to be false."
After being harassed by a senior enlisted man, Wolfe says she understood it was important for her to get ahead in order for her to protect herself.
At 25, she became a mother to her first-born, Khalid. His birth gave her even more reason to advance her career.
As she took care of Khalid and welcomed her second child, Regina, Wolfe started to work her way up the ranks.
She auditioned and was selected to be a vocalist in the Army, using her voice to better morale.
Wolfe served all over the world, including a role in the Invasion force of Iraq in 2003.
"When you thought about not being able to see your kids again. It gave you the strength that I didn't know that I had," says Wolfe.
With a talented son on the cusp or stardom, Wolfe retired from the Army in 2016.
Soon after, she helped form the Great Khalid Foundation to offer Performing Arts Scholarship and provide children with backpacks and school supplies.
"I'm here still trying to do for the communities of El Paso natives; to do the work that I know that my son wants me to do here and that I know that the El Pasoans need."
