Durand Bernarr is a highly charismatic singer, songwriter, and producer who specializes in progressive R&B rooted in soul, gospel, and funk. The singer earned praise from Erykah Badu for a collection of covers of her material, leading to a regular gig singing with her on tour. After an eclectic series of independent releases and collaborations with other boldface R&B names, Bernarr came into his own with Dur& (2020), a rich neo-soul collection that pointed the way to Wanderlust (2022), the Grammy-winning Bloom (2025), and Bernarr (2026), among other projects showcasing his restless artistry and resounding vocals.

The Cleveland-born Bernarr was raised by a musical family: his mother was a vocal coach who directed the local church choir, and his father was a live audio engineer who gave his son a memorable afterschool job at the age of 16 — he was a production assistant on an Earth, Wind & Fire tour. An early adopter of the Internet, Bernarr — who cites Little Richard and Rick James as primary influences — built a fan base covering songs and posting sketches on YouTube. His first collection of originals, Alcoholharmony: The Mixt@pe, was self-released in 2009.

Bernarr’s biggest break came with a self-released collection, 2010’s 8ight: The Stepson of Erykah Badu, a boldly titled tribute/covers project paying homage to the neo-soul legend. An impressed Badu hired Bernarr as a backing vocalist. Between several tours with Badu, he worked on more original music — most notably the 2016 EP Sound Check — and earned more exposure working on-stage and in the studio with acts like Anderson.Paak, Kaytranada, Ari Lennox, and Thundercat. In 2019, he was a finalist on BET’s singing competition The Next Big Thing, earning praise for his versatile voice as a singer and rapper.

All this activity set the stage for the 2020 release of Dur&, a well-received album featuring guest spots from Lennox and Kaytranada. Another full-length, Wanderlust, followed in 2022, with an EP, En Route, dropping in 2024. Just after En Route was up for a Grammy in the category of Best Progressive R&B Album, Bernarr returned with the full-length Bloom. This set fared even better, winning the subsequent Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album while two of its highlights, “Overqualified” and “Here We Are,” were nominated respectively for Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Performance. The following month, he won Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist at the 36th GLAAD Media Awards. Without slowing down, the singer soon put together Bernarr, issued in 2026 with Khalid, Big Sean, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Vic Mensa among the featured collaborators. – Biography by Mike Duquette