Syd and Durand Bernarr: The Message

Apple Music
Syd and Durand Bernarr: The Message

“So many people in our community have had to find their own families or may still be struggling to find families,” Syd explains to Ebro on the seventh episode of Apple Music’s The Message. “Whether it's because they weren't embraced by their own blood relatives or they maybe were born without knowing their blood relatives. I'm grateful to have parents who did embrace me and did hold on to me and love me the way I needed to be loved. I wish it was that way for everyone.” Syd’s appearance on The Message, alongside friend and collaborator Durand Bernarr, coincides with Black History Month 2021, which Apple celebrates with a focus on the Black family and its many incarnations. As members of the LGBTQ+ community, Syd and Bernarr are well familiar with the concept of a chosen family, both having been able to find some of their most beloved associates outside of their bloodlines. “I think about how people will say, 'Well, I accept you,' as if that's a grand gesture,” Bernarr says. “I would rather be embraced. My family that I've chosen has embraced me and they encourage me and uplift me. Relatives, we share the same blood, and I ain't got nothing to do with that.” Syd and Bernarr’s The Message playlist contains a few selections from each artist, a few more from some of their most cherished collaborators (KAYTRANADA, ZAYN, Erykah Badu), and one or two selections that might even conjure up familial associations in a traditional sense. “I just really love a song that has a driving bassline,” Durand says of his Blackbyrds' “Dreaming About You” selection. “Give me that bass. Pops played bass when I was younger, so it's just in me.”

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