Surrender to Love

• Artist: Kindred the Family Soul
• Rating:
• Release Date: February 25, 2003
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

Philadelphia's Kindred the Family Soul -- aka Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon -- are a married duo that fronts a ten-piece band and plays some of the most inspiring melds of soul, R&B, hip-hop, funk, pop, smooth jazz, and soft rock. Surrender to Love is the act's debut full length -- an EP appeared during the previous summer to critical and club acclaim. The quality in all of these self-penned titles is astonishing given what passes for soul these days. One can hear the fine, sweet, emotionally and musically true inspiration of Womack & Womack, Ashford & Simpson, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway here, but also the nu-soul grooves of Fertile Ground, Julie Dexter, and YahZarah as well. The shifting jazzy guitars in "Rhythm of Life," as they wind their way around the syncopated vocals, both as exchanged lines between the pair and as a chorus with a hi-hat and rim-shotting snare, make for a gorgeous midtempo groover that crosses the slick jazzy sophistication of Steely Dan with the soul grit of Lauryn Hill and Freda Payne. The album's first single, with its sweet yet spare washes of strings, subtly shaded guitars, and Dantzler's sweet and in-the-pocket tenor phrasing, is a plea for respite from the grimness of urban life. When Graydon hits the chorus and slides in a filler tag, the cut opens up, and when her verse begins, the listener understands that this is a love song above all, and as lovers plead for transcendence with one another, the listener is moved deeply into their wish for deliverance. There are 18 tracks here, and not a one of them is filler. Each moment of Surrender to Love is saturated in both accessibility and integrity. Soul music is far from dead if one listens to Kindred and their peers; they make the argument that no matter how gritty, how grim the circumstance, the struggle is not without merit. Give a listen to "We," with its manifesto of home in a slow-tempo poetic groove. Other standouts -- even though it's tough to choose -- are "What Happens Now," "Contentment" with its Tuck & Patti airiness, the anthemic "Spread the Word" with its Latin percussion-drenched funk that is equal parts Sly Stone, Ray Barretto, and War, the swinging, jazzed out "If I," which could have been sung by Monday Michiru, and the overdriven hip-hopping funk of "Party's Over." (There's a hidden bonus track after cut 18 so don't take it off prematurely.) This is as impressive a debut as one is likely to encounter in 2003. A mindblower. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Ryva [Live]		Kindred the Family Soul	(:38)
Surrender to Love	Aja Graydon, Anthony Bell, Fatin Dantzler	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:31)
Rhythm of Life	Aja Graydon, Elise Perry, Fatin Dantzler	Kindred the Family Soul	(6:10)
Far Away	Fatin Dantzler, Elise Perry, Aja Graydon	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:17)
Weather the Storm	Shawn Hibbler, Gus Rickette, Fatin Dantzler, Aja Graydon	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:51)
We	Aja Graydon, Clifton Davis, Fatin Dantzler, Ursula Rucker, Omar Edwards, Chuck Treese	Ursula Rucker, Kindred the Family Soul	(3:45)
Stars (Lyrics)	Aja Graydon, Fatin Dantzler, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis	Kindred the Family Soul	(5:09)
I Am	Aja Graydon, Shawn Hibbler	Jazmine Sullivan, Kindred the Family Soul	(4:51)
Family Song (Reprise)	Henry Krieger, Tom Eyen	Kindred the Family Soul	(1:22)
What Happens Now	N & G, Richard Patterson, Aja Graydon	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:18)
Meant to Be	Aja Graydon, Fatin Dantzler, Richard Patterson	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:24)
Contentment	Aja Graydon, Anthony Bell	Kindred the Family Soul	(3:59)
Spread the Word	Jerry Goldstein, Sylvester Allen, Lee Oskar, Morris Dickerson, Fatin Dantzler, Aja Graydon, Harold Brown	Kindred the Family Soul	(5:45)
If I (Lyrics)	Fatin Dantzler, James Poyser, Aja Graydon	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:55)
Entertain the Peoplez (Interlude)	Fatin Dantzler	Kindred the Family Soul	(:07)
Don't Wanna Suffer (Carbon Copy)	James Poyser, Aja Graydon, Fatin Dantzler	Kindred the Family Soul	(3:00)
Party's Over	Fatin Dantzler, Aja Graydon	Kindred the Family Soul, Flo Brown	(4:04)
Freedom	Aja Graydon, Fatin Dantzler	Kindred the Family Soul	(2:50)
Clap Your Hands (Interlude)	Fatin Dantzler, Aja Graydon, Charles Njapa	Kindred the Family Soul	(:04)
[Untitled Track]		Kindred the Family Soul	(:04)
[Untitled Track]		Kindred the Family Soul	(:05)
[Untitled Track]		Kindred the Family Soul	(:05)
[Untitled Track]		Kindred the Family Soul	(:04)
[Untitled Track]		Kindred the Family Soul	(:04)
Rhythm of Life [King Britt Remix]	Aja Graydon, Fatin Dantzler, Elise Perry	Kindred the Family Soul	(4:07)

Credits

Jazmine Sullivan (Vocals), Kareem Wells (Cymbals), Ben Johnson (Drums), Elise Perry (Producer), Ivan Dupée (Horn Arrangements), Aja Graydon (Group Member), Kareem Wells (Project Coordinator), Anthony Bell (Instrumentation), Aja Graydon (Vocals), Lil' John Roberts (Drums), Larry Gold (Cello), Steve McKeever (Executive Producer), Daud Elbakara (Trumpet), Aja Graydon (Art Direction), Poogie Bell (Drums), Emma Kummrow (Violin), Charles Whitfield (Administration), Ivan Dupée (Engineer), Doc Gibbs (Percussion), Richie Fudoli (Flute), Darren Robinson (Drums), Igor Szwec (Violin), Jacob Robinson (Engineer), Serban Ghenea (Mixing), Keenan Pryor (Project Coordinator), Carol Riddick (Vocals), Thaddeus T. Tribbett (Bass), Anthony Bell (Liner Notes), Fatin Dantzler (Art Direction), Ivan Dupée (Programming), Paul Wertico (Percussion), Mike Tarsia (Engineer), Gus Rickette (Drum Programming), Andre Harris (Producer), Jeff Bradshaw (Trombone), 88-Keys (Producer), Ursula Rucker (Poetry), Dave Ivory (Engineer), Jazmine Sullivan (Vocals (Background)), Andre Harris (Fender Rhodes), Elise Perry (Keyboards), Jacob Robinson (Mixing), Yvonne Gage (Vocals (Background)), Richard Patterson (Horn Arrangements), Darien Davis (Photography), James Poyser (Producer), Shawn Hibbler (Drums), James Poyser (Percussion), Dave Ivory (Producer), Anthony Bell (Fender Rhodes), Jon Smeltz (Engineer), Arlynne Page (Vocals (Background)), King Britt (Remixing), Bilal (Vocals), Jeff Bradshaw (Horn Arrangements), Matt Cappy (Trumpet), Keith Henderson (Guitar), Vidal Davis (Producer), Richard Patterson (Bass), Fatin Dantzler (Vocals (Background)), Curtis Chambers (Guitar), Vivian Green (Vocals (Background)), Randy Bowland (Guitar), Thornell Jones (Art Direction), Michael Attardi (Engineer), Frank Sutton (Engineer), Damen Bennett (Flute), Anthony Bell (Engineer), Shawn Hibbler (Synthesizer Programming), James Poyser (Keyboards), Larry Gold (String Arrangements), Ivan Dupée (Fender Rhodes), Aja Graydon (Photography), Mike Parker (A&R), Davis A. Barnett (Viola), King Britt (Programming), Junius Bervine (Keyboards), Kindred the Family Soul (Producer), Fatin Dantzler (Vocals), Jon Smeltz (Mixing), Anthony Bell (Producer), Steve McKeever (Liner Notes), Tomi Popovic (Guitar Effects), Mike Rush (Design), James Poyser (Instrumentation), Shawn Hibbler (Programming), Jill Scott (Vocals), Omar Edwards (Keyboards), King Britt (Producer), Ivan Dupée (Producer), Fatin Dantzler (Photography), Jermaine Childs (Bass), Ivan Dupée (Mixing)