So to kick off 2010's The Movement Fam Artist Features, we thought we'd do it BIG! Normally, we like to spotlight up and coming artists that we believe in and who are about to do big things; however, this time we decided to step that up a bit. Fans of the Hall of Justus (Little Brother, etc) may be well familiar with Miss Carlitta Durand; and although she's worked with some of the most talented MC's in the game, she's on her way to make her mark on the world solo.
Carlitta recently released her debut EP, 'The Doug & Patty EP' (based on the 90's cartoon characters). With eleven songs (does that technically make it an album?), it's a free gem that really shows off Miss Durand's vocal and songwriting abilities. Check the interview below for more info, but every song is really dope; that's rare as hell these days, let alone on a free EP. She reminds me of a young, more upbeat Jill Scott (mainly in her vocal tones and inflections), and has some serious potential to make a solid mark on the Hip Hop, R&B and Neo Soul worlds.
Carlitta was kind enough to take some time out to chat with me about the EP, her upcoming projects and how she got down with Little Brother...
Cee: Hey Carlitta, thanks for taking the time to chat with us.
Alright, so let's get a little background on you. How did you get into the biz? And how did you link up with Little Brother/Justus League?
Carlitta: Hey, well..a friend of mine had a friend, he eventually became my manager, he worked with HOJ and JL, and Little Brother needed a singer one night, they called me and the rest is history. The song was "Life of the Party".
Cee: Most of our readers will know you best from your work with LB. How has it been working with such esteemed MCs? Has it helped you shape your craft?
Carlitta: It's been great, I've learned a lot, met a lot of people. It feels good to work with artists who take their craft seriously, and I consider LB to be one of the best rap groups of all time. It's truly a blessing and has opened doors I never would of thought I'd see. I've definitely grown as an artist and a singer since the first night I met LB.
Cee: So after a gang of guest appearances, we finally have a Carlitta solo project in the 'Doug & Patty EP'. Was this your first solo outing?
Carlitta: There was one before this, a mixtape "Carlitta's Way" that available on iTunes.
Cee: Tell us about the EP. Who did you get on production? There's some amazing beats on the project.
Carlitta: The whole project was produced by Vaughn Garcia of M1 Platoon. It features Oklahoma rapper Jabee and he recently released a mixtape as well with Mick Boogie, "Must Be Nice", be on the look out for him as well. It also features Big Chopps of the M1 Platoon, I believe him and his group got next, they are out of DC and they are very dope. I took a trip to DC to work on the EP for a weekend, we worked all day and night to finish it. I'm proud of it, it's fun and the music is good. I'm just happy i can share it with the world.
Cee: Feature-wise, there's no big name appearances. Was this intentional? And notably, there's no Justus League feature. Any reason behind this?
Carlitta: I wasn't really gonna feature anyone but Vaughn Garcia, I wanna give everyone a chance. There are rappers out there that we tend to over look and not give credit to but they are very dope. Jabee and Chopps are some of them, I believe in their talent and I think they have something worth listening to.
Cee: What was the inspiration behind using the Doug & Patty characters from the 90's? That was a throwback!!
Carlitta: Lol ha, there wasn't really any inspiration, me and Vaughn were just brainstorming names. We get silly when we're together, I threw out Doug and Patty and he said 'OK'. That's it.
Cee: What was the motivation behind making it a free download? There's a lot of talk about this these days as listeners tend to expect everything free or they'll download it illegally anyway. What are your thoughts on this?
Carlitta: It was a Christmas gift to everyone...I know there is a problem with downloading but I believe people will pay if they believe in you. When people appreciate what you do and believe in you AND enjoy they will buy you music.
Cee: What's the plans from here, as far as your next project? Do you have a full length album in the works? What can the fans expect from you going forward?
Carlitta: A full album is coming, touring, more projects and collaborations, shows, videos...anything I can do to share my music.
Cee: Is there any artist(s) who are your main inspirations? And who are the main folks you're keen to work with on the next project(s)?
Carlitta: Sade, I love her voice and she's beautiful and I LOVE Prince, he's a musical genius. I would love to work with Madlib or Stevie Wonder lol, but I'm really open to work with anyone.
Cee: Hit us with your contact details so the fans can check out your music!
Carlitta: Of course:
twitter.com/carlittadurand (The best place to find me lol)
myspace.com/missdurand
youtube.com/carlittad
carlittamusic@gmail.com
and Facebook: search "Carlitta Durand"
Cee: Thanks for your time, much love and good luck with everything!
Carlitta: THAAAANK YOU!!!! LOVE, PEACE AND BLESSINGS!
Download Carlitta Durand - Doug & Patty EP
