Who Got Next? Introducing Durand Bernarr...

Let’s get all of the obligatory introductory stuff out of the way.
He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.
He was home schooled until the age of 17.
He’s only 20, but he’s musically light years ahead of his time.
His favorite collabos, living or dead, would be Kelis, Sarah Vaughn, Erykah Badu
and Billie Holiday.
He has a serious love jones for L.A’s New Wave group J*Davey.
And his favorite color is yellow.
But follow me, it really isn’t about ANY of that.
It’s about his voice.
And the runs. The runs and that sound.
Thank God for YouTube!
It was there that I first saw him.
It was his rendition of ‘It’s so cold in the D’ that caught my attention.
He’s the cover king.
He will take what you think is your song and make it his own.
He has personality for days. He’s your younger brother.
He’s engaging and wise. I liked him immediately.
His name is Durand Bernarr.
“My real name is Bernarr Durand. I just switched it around”.
He tells me on a Sunday afternoon, 30 minutes after the interview was supposed to start because he had to shower and do his push-ups.
Bernarr, already a superstar!

Simply put ,when he opens his mouth to sing beautiful comes out.
It's the kind of sound that makes you spontaneously clap your hands.
It's that first bite of chocolate.
It’s your mama’s fried chicken.
It’s the freak um’ dress.
It’s that dude that you’ve been loving for so long…FINALLY loving you back.
It’s just… right.
His runs from top to bottom are effortless. And he was NEVER vocally trained.
No one should be singing like this in their bedroom.
It’s singing at it’s best. it’s Kim Burrell, and Donnie and Bilal and em’.
It’s pretty. It’s ridiculous!



A flip video camera and the accidental discovery of the Youtube channel was the birth of ‘Alcohol Harmony’, a name he gave himself because as he put it “Alcohol is the pain. It’s the struggle. And the harmony is the music that you use to get away from that problem.”
He has quite the following. Not yet famous, but on to big things.

A virgo, and a self proclaimed perfectionist, Bernarr's been singing since the age of 3. He's also written close to 400 songs. He will be releasing a 7 song EP on itunes, and a mixtape of cover songs like Kanye West's 'Flashing Lights' & John Mayers' 'Slow Dancing In A Burning Room' next month.

His favorite vocalists range from Maxwell to Ella Fitzgerald, from Jazmine Sullivan to Donny Hathaway. He says “I love Maxwell because he’s a niche artist. He has his own vibe. I want to be able to be myself. I want people to hear me and say ‘wow, I love that!’

When asked which producer he’d like to work with I could hear him smiling when he said “Brooke D’leau of J*Davey. The Neptunes. And I would love to work with Gnarls Barkley.”

Where will he be in the next 5 to 10 years?
He says he wants to have a family. I want him on my radio…

thoughtsandthings... 2/16 ' hate that I love you'

The Chris Brown and Rihanna story is so hot right now
that I couldn’t avoid it, no matter how hard I tried.
I need to start by saying that
I am not Shahrazad Ali and I in no way condone violence against women
or anyone for that matter.
But I haven’t put a scarlet letter on Chris Brown just yet.
I don’t know the whole story.
I don’t know if what has been reported so far is actually true.
And there haven’t been any photos released.
I want to boldly reiterate that I DO NOT THINK THAT A MAN SHOULD EVER STRIKE A WOMAN.

Many people are calling Chris Brown an animal, a woman beater,
saying that his career is all but over.
There are reports of his upbringing
and what could possibly be the reason for his violent behavior.
Many are calling for us to address our young men
about violence and abuse against women.
And I wholeheartedly agree.
This incident gives us a great opportunity to have
open and meaningful discussions
about domestic abuse with our children and with one another.
But while we’re telling our young men that they
shouldn’t strike the ones they claim to love,
Let’s also tell our little girls that it’s not okay to let someone hit them.
And while we’re looking into what would make Chris Brown hit a woman,
we should also be looking at what would make Rihanna accept this behavior.
Sources say that this relationship was turbulent/violent long before last Sunday.

Will this hurt Chris Brown’s career?
I’m not so sure.
I have to confess that I may be a little jaded.
Jaded because I remember the Mike Tyson/ Robin Givens debacle.
I remember him still being pretty famous and popular
after she said that he’d beat her.
I actually remember her career taking a turn for the worst.
Jaded because I remember Tupac coming out of prison on a rape charge
and releasing one of the hottest cd’s in the country.
Jaded because maybe I’ve seen ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’
more times than I can count.
I could just be in denial.

I've asked myself questions like,
Are we outraged because they are both young, beautiful and famous?
Are we outraged because Chris Brown is a cute and bubbly teenager with a squeaky clean image- and we just can't believe he'd do such a thing?
I wonder if everyone is upset because a woman was
attacked or because it’s Rihanna.
Would we care so much if Lil' Wayne was accused of assaulting Karrine Steffans?
Would we care so much if it were Monique from around the way?

Everyone has an opinion on the matter.
I just want to wait until all of the evidence is out.
I wonder what we’ll say when/if Rihanna forgives
him and the relationship continues.
What will we say when/if Chris Brown sells more records
or becomes an even bigger star?
Are we going to be okay? Will we forget and keep it moving?
And if so, what will that say about us?

thoughtsandthings...2/2 the truth series pt. 2 (wife)

I'd always dreamed of getting married when I was younger.
I was never sure that I would.
I just knew that I wanted it.
I was never sure of how to 'be' married.
I had no example.
There weren't any successful marriages before me.
I just wanted it.

I'm fortunate.
I married a man that I like.
A man that likes me.
A man that no matter how crazy I look,
or what crazy thing I say,
still finds me sexy. smart. pretty.
I'm still his 'ol' lady.
But make no mistake marriage is work. Hard ass work.
The hardest work besides graduate school
and raising kids that I've ever had to do.

I think of marriage as a merging of 'stuff'.
Like moving into a house together.
Your 'stuff' packed in the box.
His 'stuff' packed in the box.
You don't know how much
or even what KIND of stuff is in his box
until you actually move it all in and start unpacking.
That's when the real fun begins.

Who knew that his clothes wouldn't quite make the hamper
and always end up on the floor NEXT to the hamper?
Who knew that he'd leave the freshly cleaned bathroom not so freshly clean. Often.
Or that he'd bring back exactly what I didn't want from the grocery store.
But who knew that I could be particular. a particular princess,
who REALLY loves to have her way.
It's a compromise for sure.
But it is a beautiful thing.
A sacred thing when you have the right person.

Marriage certainly has benefits.
You always have a date.
Sex is usually available.
And most important for me, I don't have too go far to get a hug.

There's a way to be a wife.
And I'm still learning.
Learning a great deal about my husband
and even more about myself.
I'm learning the art of sharing. listening.
I'm learning to pick my battles.
Not to say everything that I think.
And that sometimes keeping the peace
is more important than winning the war.

Do I sometimes want to curse him out in 5 different languages?
Do I sometimes look at him and say to myself 'What was I thinking?'
Do I fantasize about what life would be like with Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade?
Do I sometimes long for my single life when I didn't have a care in the world?
Absolutely!
But I'm a realist.
I know that the grass isn't greener on the other side.
It's just grass.
Would I want to be married to anybody else? No.
Who else could I fight at 5pm and love (hard) at 5:02pm?
Who else would I still call 'baby' in a heated argument?
I rarely call my husband by name.
I know that I'm married to my dude.
The dude that fits me.
The dude that loves me even when I'm not loving myself.

7 years and two beautiful boys later,
I'm still learning how to be a wife. a better wife. a better me.
And we're growing and learning and fighting and making up and loving together.
And that's what's up.