Carlitta Durand

The silken-voiced Carlitta Durand is a progressive R&B artist whose solo recordings combine modern soul and downtempo electronica with a dreamlike sound that belies her down-to-earth lyricism. She established her career in the latter half of the 2000s as an affiliate of fellow North Carolinians Little Brother, and by extension became a frequent collaborator heard on recordings by the related Foreign Exchange. Durand followed three independent solo full-lengths -- namely Songs from Carli (2011), I'll Be Gorgeous When I Die (2015), and Kismet Green (2020) -- with Make Me Stay (2024), an ANKN & VDR-produced EP issued through Foreign Exchange Music. Born in Minneapolis the year city native Prince released Purple Rain, Durand cites the sounds of that blockbuster album as one of her earliest musical memories. She started singing during early childhood. In her early teens -- following a move to Durham, North Carolina -- she was in a church choir with her parents and siblings. While she was in the process of earning a bachelor's degree in theatre performance from North Carolina Central University, she met Phonte and Big Pooh of Little Brother when the duo needed a hook for "Life of the Party," a track that appeared on the 2006 compilation The Hall of Justus: Soldiers of Fortune. This led to more studio time with Little Brother. Additionally, she was in the NCCU hip-hop class taught by group founding member 9th Wonder. By the turn of the decade, Durand had appeared on numerous Little Brother and 9th Wonder projects, plus songs by the likes of Tanya Morgan, Skyzoo, and Nicolay and Zo!, the latter two being among Phonte's closest associates. Durand also teamed with Vaughn Garcia for The Doug and Patty EP. Well into the next decade, Durand issued the full-length Songs from Carli and continued her affiliation with the Justus League collective. Moreover, she made regular contributions to albums by Zo!, Phonte, and the Foreign Exchange, the group led by Phonte and Nicolay. After Durand was featured on the Foreign Exchange Music releases SunStorm, Charity Starts at Home, and ManMade, she made her proper solo album debut in 2015 with the self-released I'll Be Gorgeous When I Die. Later in the year, the Foreign Exchange issued their second album with Durand's involvement, Tales from the Land of Milk and Honey. Durand then took a lengthy hiatus to raise her family and returned in 2020 with Kismet Green, her second album as an independent solo artist. She contributed to FE Music recordings by BeMyFiasco, Darien Brockington, and Phonte before she returned with the six-song EP Make Me Stay, an ANKN & VDR production released in August 2024.
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