Members:
Fatin Dantzler (husband).
Aja Graydon (wife).
The duo, which was married in September 1998, resides in the Philadelphia area with their six children. The oldest and youngest are boys; the other four are girls.
Aja Graydon (wife).
The duo, which was married in September 1998, resides in the Philadelphia area with their six children. The oldest and youngest are boys; the other four are girls.
Early Careers:
Aja and Fatin both were solo performers before getting together to form a duo in the 1990s. Fatin, a Philadelphia native, was also a songwriter and has had his tunes recorded by '90s acts Bel Biv Devoe and Pebbles, among others. Aja, who's from the Washington DC area, had a solo recording deal in her mid-teens in the 1980s before forming a partnership with Fatin. The couple eventually married and started a family, while continuing to work jobs both inside and outside the music industry.
Being Discovered:
The duo was performing at the Black Lily Film & Music Festival in their hometown of Philadelphia one night when they caught the eye of singer-poetess Jill Scott, also a Philly resident, who had released her critically acclaimed debut album on the Hidden Beach Recordings label in 2000. Jill was so impressed with the duo that she took them to Hidden Beach executives, where they were signed to a recording contract. After two years of work, Kindred's debut album, Surrender to Love, was released in early 2003.
Later Career:
After Surrender to Love, Kindred went on to release two more albums, which like their debut, were critically acclaimed, but not big sellers. None of the albums went on to achieve gold status (sales of half a million copies), or even reach the top 20 on the Billboard R&B album charts. Eventually, the duo migrated to Shanachie Entertainment for their 2011 fourth album, the political and social-message minded Love Has No Recession, which includes the successful single "You've Got Love," featuring rapper Snoop Dogg.
Notable Quote:
"We're very passionate about what we do and we love that that we get the opportunity to express ourselves, so we feed off each other's energy and try to make each project better. I think that Aja's an exceptional vocalist, I think that I'm a good singer and that when we have good material and can bring our emotions to it, that makes it easier." Fatin Dantzler, to soultracks.com, October 2008.
Discography:
2011: Love Has No Recession
2008: The Arrival
2005: In This Life Together
2003: Surrender to Love
2008: The Arrival
2005: In This Life Together
2003: Surrender to Love