SOUL MUSIC FAMILY AFFAIR

BC-MUS-KINDRED:PH _ entertainment, people (1280 words)Soul music is this couple’s family businessBy Annette John-HallKnight Ridder Newspapers(KRT) PHILADELPHIA _ The smoke machine at the Five Spot in downtown Philadelphia emits a dreamy cloud on which the music of Kindred theFamily Soul, the city’s soulful husband-and-wife duo, wafts and lingers. Jill Scott and India.Arie sit close in a booth like girlfriends with secrets, theireyes closed, their fingers popping, and float above the song’s mellow refrain. “I wanna go to the place where lovers go Do the things that lovers do No stress A sweet caress from me to you.” It’s a Sunday afternoon and a who’s who of artists has gathered at the lounge, home of the nationally acclaimed Tuesday night Black Lilyneo-soul showcase. The occasion is the video shoot for “Far Away,” the first single from “Surrender to Love,” Aja Graydon and Fatin Dantzler’slong-awaited debut on the Hidden Beach label. If the public isn’t on hand for this private event, just about every regular from the Five Spot’s performance series is. Major-label artists such asScott, Arie and Musiq; twins Ayana and Ayinke Hipps of the Philadelphia duo Aaries; Renee Neufville, formerly of the dance-music Zhane, and jazztrombonist Jeff Bradshaw have each committed the day to supporting Kindred with love and a cameo. It’s a testament to the respect given the West Philly singing and songwriting couple, who for three years have captivated audiences here and asthe opening act on Scott and Musiq’s national tours. “I’ve been hollering Kindred for a long time, ever since I met them,” said Musiq, whose sophomore effort, “Juslisen,” has sold more than a millioncopies. “They’re definitely soul music. I look up to them, their union, their family.” Because they’re married, comparisons to Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson are unavoidable. And Graydon, 24, and Dantzler, 29, say they’rehonored to be mentioned in the same breath as those legendary composers and performers, whose songs have fueled the careers of artists includingChaka Khan (“I’m Every Woman”), Diana Ross (“Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand”), and Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (“Ain’t NothingLike the Real Thing”). In truth, says Arie, “I don’t think anybody thinks they sound like Ashford and Simpson.” What they do have in common is that “they’re marriedand they’re “good.” Kindred’s music _ live instrumentation, poetic lyrics, and mellow soul with jazz and Latin influences _ is the neo-soul variety Philadelphia hasmade its specialty for more than a decade, thanks to the Roots. As refreshing as it is, it has a familiar feel. What’s unique are Graydon and Dantzler, who have flipped the stereotype of young black love on its head. No material trappings. Nobaby-mama drama. Just a loving, working family unit. “I think they’re an extremely important model for African-Americans to see,” says Scott, who introduced Kindred to Steve McKeever, presidentof Hidden Beach. “They’re young, married, have two children and a music career. It makes our souls and our hearts proud.” “We embrace the beauty of the ghetto and we keep it real,” Graydon says. “We talk about what’s not so perfect in our relationship. It’s not likeFatin and I are laying on a beach in white linen.” “Not yet,” Dantzler interjects. “We live in West Philly,” continues Graydon, shooting her husband a “you’re so corny” look. “For us, it’s about our existing, not existing likeother people do.” “Can you imagine me trying to compete with Britney Spears or Fatin trying to compete with Usher, doing videos under a waterfall with asix-pack (stomach)? That’s nutty,” says Graydon, whose second child, daughter Diya, was born 10 months ago. “We can do the music we love ANDhave a family.” Graydon throws back her jumbo afro and emits a throaty laugh. She’s what the old folks call “big-boned,” not even close to a Britney type, andproud of it. She’s a good physical match for Fatin (pronounced fa-TEEN), though her four-inch stilettos make her a shade taller than her husbandduring the “Far Away” shoot _ enough for director Jeff Kennedy to suggest she ditch them. “Hey, haven’t you ever heard of Sonny and Cher?” jokes Graydon, gladly exchanging the heels for a pair of slippers. It isn’t the first time Graydon has traded glamour for substance. The Washington native was 15 when she signed a record deal with DeliciousVinyl and headed to Los Angeles, where, she says, she was being groomed as the next Brandy. Though she enjoyed being financially independent at 17, she wasn’t feeling the music. Graydon suggested to her label that she hook up with theRoots, who had worked on “Baduizm,” Erykah Badu’s debut. Upon arriving in Philly in 1997, Graydon met Dantzler, who had returned home to work with the Roots after three years in Atlanta, where heteamed with super-producer Dallas Austin and wrote songs for Bell Biv DeVoe and Pebbles. Like Graydon, Dantzler had always been immersed in music. The West Philly native studied saxophone at the city’s High School for the Creativeand Performing Arts, then found his singing voice at Overbrook High School. “I was still trying to do my thing as a … writer and producer when I met Aja,” Dantzler recalls. “I had a chance to learn about her as an artist inher own right.” “That made me have so much more respect for him,” Graydon says. “It seemed like it was genuinely about me, not about trying to get with thenew girl on the scene.” In 1998, they married. Fifty friends and family members attended a Washington ceremony devoid of music and heavy on poetry. The couplewear silver wedding rings they purchased at the train station there, matching bands with no bling-bling. “We’re more like hot wings,” laughs Dantzler, who took a job selling appliances to support his family after the birth of their son, Aquil, 3. “Wedidn’t have no diamond money.” When the two decided to perform together as Kindred, they took off professionally. They tore up the local circuit with their electrifying shows,with backup singers and a 10-member band heavy on horns that harks back to the days of Earth Wind & Fire. McKeever signed them without ademo; the couple had already developed a loyal base of fans clamoring for a CD. But it took three years from the time the duo joined Hidden Beach in 2000 for “Surrender to Love” to drop. The disc took a back seat to anotherproduction, little Diya. “We just incorporated the baby into our plans,” McKeever says. “Life takes priority.” But there were other snafus that delayed the release: a missing tape here, a copyright problem there, all of which made “the fans in Philly getreally frustrated,” McKeever says. The finished product is worth the wait, a collection of original tunes that reflect love’s ups and downs and capture the energy of Kindred’s liveshows. The single, “Far Away,” is getting airplay on hip-hop and R&B stations. And Graydon’s mother, who moved up from Washington, minds thekids when the couple is on the road _ which this summer may extend all the way to Europe. And now here they are, with makeup people and directors at their elbows, shooting a video with soulful heavyweights in a cloud of smoke. “It makes me realize we’re so not in control of our lives,” Graydon says. “I still don’t think we’re thankful or grateful enough.” ___ For tour dates and other information about Kindred the Family Soul, go to www.hiddenbeach.com/kindred. ___ © 2003, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit Philadelphia Online, the Inquirer’s World Wide Web site, at http://www.philly.com/ Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.