April 12–19, 2001

cover story| the music issue

The Power of Two

Soulful couple Kindred keep it in the family.

by Ainè Ardron-Doley

She’s got the eye of Fatin: Kindred’s Aja Graydon (right) and Fatin Dantzler. photo: Lexie Giarraputo

"Kindred, are you guys earthy or are you just pretending to be earthy?" inquires Power 99’s obnoxious DJ team The Hot Boys during a live, on-air interview. Soul-singing duo Kindred had just opened for Jill Scott in their first big hometown show, a sold-out gig at the Tower Theater. It’s a madhouse and they never hear the question over the live feed from Power 99’s studio.

Informed about the comment later, the two certainly had some opinions.

"It’s rhythm and blues," explains Aja Graydon, 22, relaxing with Fatin Dantzler, 27, the Sunday after opening back-to-back Jill shows.

"It’s soul," adds Dantzler. Both sound a bit hoarse after their big weekend.

"Soul is just a respected word," continues Graydon. "If somebody says you have soul — that’s giving you some validity."

This is Kindred, a funky 10-piece band led by two soulful singer-songwriters who just happen to be husband and wife. But don’t think Ashford and Simpson or Ike and Tina. Introduced at The Roots’ New York City loft four years ago by Rich Nichols, Graydon and Dantzler wax nostalgic about their beginnings. Graydon turns to Dantzler and they seem alone together in the calm of their living room — no interview, no tape recorder. "You had on that baseball cap with the brown rim and you had on a Timberland sweatshirt" says Graydon.

Softly interrupting, Dantzler smiles and asks, "Why you doing this?"

Laughing, Graydon replies, "I’m remembering, I just remember that’s all."

How sweet it is. When they met they were both successful performers. Graydon had been signed to Delicious Vinyl as a teenager; Dantzler had been on the Smoking Grooves tour. Four years later, they are Kindred and have a 1-year-old son, Aquil. "When you make the right decision — it’s scary when you make it but you know it when you’re doing it," ponders Graydon on the reality of becoming a group.

"Everything comes in time," adds Dantzler. "We traveled the road separately, came together and that’s when it really started to take off for the two of us."

Regulars at the Five Spot’s Black Lily showcase know the steamy, funked-up sweat that Kindred soaks the small club in on Tuesday nights. With a stage jam packed with back-up singers and a big-ass band, Graydon and Dantzler work the crowd diligently, sharing the stage as naturally as they share their lives. Yeah, Black Lily is a woman’s thing but with Graydon comes Dantzler. "We kinda just bogarted our way into doing Black Lily," laughs Dantzler. "As time went on, they kinda realized it was not so much about that I was a guy and Graydon was a girl, it was the music that fit."

Kindred was just doing their thing. They weren’t pounding the pavement searching for a deal. But word of mouth kicked up a storm of talk about this couple that rocked a hell of a live show. "People came looking for us," explains Dantzler. The group didn’t even have a demo tape. Graydon jumps in, "People were like ‘Look, you got to see them, forget the demo, You need to go.’ Black Lily is the anti-demo."

On the night Kindred announced their freshly inked deal with Hidden Beach records, the fans rejoiced, knowing that soon they could take Kindred into their homes on CD.

"It’s always nice to know people are looking to your area, where you are, to what’s gonna be new and what’s gonna be next," says Graydon, a Washington, D.C. native. Kindred definitely digs on Philly’s musical history and humbly honors its foundation. Keeping with tradition Dantzler wants to make history of his own, "Let’s build on this thing, make it strong. We need to strive to make hit songs, songs that last a lifetime."

Being part of hip-hop and soul’s Next Movement is a wonderful thing.

Graydon lays it out bare, "I can do music that I truly believe in, say some righteous stuff, do things that normally wouldn’t be accepted and be able to feed my family, sell some records and still touch people’s hearts at the same time." The album is set for a fall release. Production credits are tightly under wraps but according to Dantzler, "For the most part it will be a Philadelphia project. We gonna get as many people involved in it as we can."

And that’s true Kindred philosophy — family values run deep in this movement.