The City of Brotherly love has birthed some of the greatest soulsters and Kindred, the husband-and-wife duo, is one of them. As loving parents of five, Aja Graydon and Fatin Dantzler have learned to balance life in the fickle music biz and still maintain their home, but not without some adversity. ESSENCE.com caught up with the lovely couple who shared their love story in their own words.
Kindred’s soul-stirring grooves move the crowd.
“[When we met] it was not love at first sight, but I did love his voice,” says Aja. “He was introduced to me as a songwriter who was going to help out on my album. He got right down to business and asked me to sing. It was the beginning of our love story and the answer to the most commonly asked question about our love affair, ‘What came first, the love or the music?’”
Aja and Fatin bless the stage for a taping of “Soul Train.”
Aja and Fatin shine together. "We did not have a long courtship—eight months to be exact, " says Aja. “He opened up to me and told his mom about me. We talked about religion, marriage, kids, and the future, but most of all we talked about music. How we loved it, how we made it, and how it disappointed us. We both spent our teenage years striving for stardom, getting further than others, but not as far as most.”
When two are in love like Aja and Fatin they become a dynamic duo. "The first time I met my husband, Fatin, I heard him before I saw him, " says Aja. “I was in another room and heard a sweet voice singing on what sounded like a demo. I hurried to see who was behind the voice and that was the first time I laid eyes on him.”
Fatin enjoys the comfort of his lovely wife Aja, whom he married after eight months of dating.
“We titled our song ‘House of Love’ because that’s what we’ve worked on building with our children,” says Fatin. “My family is my house and my foundation.”
Aja and Fatin are all smiles as their little one sleeps.
Fatin has his hands full as one of the twins gets tired, while the other remains wide-eyed for the camera.
Fatin’s daughter gives her dad a bear hug.
Aja celebrates the first birthday of her baby girls, Lanaa and Ain. The girls are now 15 months old.
Mama Aja and Papa Fatin are surrounded by love with twins, Lanaa and Ain, 15 months; Nina, 4; Aquil, 10, and Diya, 6.
Diya, Aquil, twins Lanaa and Ain, and Nina snuggle with their parents.
Fatin looks pensive as he works the red carpet.
Fatin and Aja are the vision of love at the 2006 BET Awards in Los Angeles.
