Durand Bernarr: Never Straight, Always Forward

The Vic Mensa Show

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr joins Vic Mensa for a deep dive into the complexities of fame, identity, and musical heritag

Key takeaways

• Durand Bernarr discusses the necessity of separating his personal identity from his artistic output to prevent mental health decline.
• The duo explores how modern homophobia in the Black community can be viewed as a byproduct of colonial imposition on African social structures.

Main topics

• Fame and Privacy
• Queer Identity and Labels

Notable quotes

You can be grateful and still unhappy.

Conclusion

An insightful exploration of how artists can navigate the tension betw

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Celebrating Black History Month and Pride Month for Speaker 1 (0:02) the rest of your life, huh? For the rest. I haven't been called a by any white people, but I've been called plenty of sissies and by other boys who look just like me. The heterosexual homies damn near in tears. Like, I Speaker 2 (0:13) am that ,, but I also feel like a bad bitch too. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's just. It's been a knockout like Tyson Speaker 3 (0:19) Fury on a highway quick pass in a hurry because I'm trying to go to sleep at the end of the day. Speaker 1 (0:26) You can be grateful and still unhappy. Speaker 2 (1:05) I'm Speaker 1 (1:05) sending this to you. That's your note. Speaker 2 (1:21) I'm gonna be your backup singer. See. Speaker 1 (1:25) Take Speaker 2 (1:31) one, Common Mark. Speaker 3 (1:41) See this extended intro was so hard though. Because Donna Summer was the inspiration. Don't you miss when someone was used to have like lengthy instrumental sections? They Speaker 1 (1:52) don't do that no more because you know it's all about the stream. Speaker 3 (1:54) Instant gratification. Speaker 3 (1:58) Had to put shades Speaker 1 (1:59) on them. Well, you know, I got up. Well, I'm sorry, I didn't get up. My body woke me up at 4 o'clock this morning after going to sleep after midnight. Oh, word. Yes. I can't do all that. But this song was about not doing that. Exactly. How did they end up getting me to do the exact thing that I was talking about not doing? Speaker 2 (2:19) Hell. That was funny. And the strings. Oh, yeah, the strings throughout this whole Speaker 3 (2:25) album were gorgeous. Excuse me? Speaker 2 (2:29) Y'all did that. It sounded Speaker 3 (2:31) like money. Speaker 2 (2:33) Now you know I'm leaving early if I came on time. Got the lights turned on. French 75. Speaker 1 (2:41) Got my fur coat on and I'm dressed to the nine. What a shame, but I'd rather be home Speaker 2 (2:48) with you. Speaker 1 (2:49) I'm Speaker 2 (2:50) ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. Speaker 3 (3:02) I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I'm ladies. I My location on You Got Yours Speaker 2 (3:07) Off. That feels inequitable. Speaker 3 (3:09) I'm in a club and these girls half naked. I'd rather be ass naked with you. I'm the shit, but I can't fertilize her. This ain't no Frank in the Lou. She wanna get planked in the new. Ooh, child, I ain't just no regular dude. I don't wanna be on your Snapchat story. Rando's like, you wanna drink, champ? DJ, FN and North. Shots for the girls like me. I ain't mad at you no judge no jury I'm finna knock out like Tyson Fury on a highway quick pass in a hurry cuz I'm trying to go to sleep at the end of Speaker 2 (3:36) the day Hey now Speaker 1 (4:08) you know I'm leaving early Speaker 2 (4:09) if I came on time got the lights down low 75 got my fur coat on Speaker 3 (4:17) and I'm dressed to the nines what a shame I'd rather be home Speaker 2 (4:23) You Speaker 3 (4:26) remember we had that other Speaker 2 (4:27) ah ah ah part Speaker 3 (4:28) that we didn't put in. Ah, that's right. That's right. Speaker 2 (4:33) Y'all Speaker 3 (4:54) hear it? Y'all get that. Speaker 2 (4:55) Yeah, where the applause at? OK, thank you all for singing live, sweating like a horned turd. Speaker 3 (5:02) My god, thank you for joining me man. Thank Speaker 1 (5:04) you for having me Speaker 3 (5:05) my guest today Celebrating Black History Month and Pride Month for the rest of your life. Huh the rest the Grammy award-winning Durand Bernard There we go. Hey, you had to switch your number up on them, huh? I did your Speaker 1 (5:17) shit went green. I tried to text you I forgot there are so many folks I need to just hit up and there's folks that I don't need to hit up, you know, of course I saw you say something recently Speaker 3 (5:27) where you were like I've reached the point I don't want to be acknowledged or spoken to in public, especially touched, overstimulated, beyond capacity. Please let me be. Resist the urge to make this about you, please. My question was like, how do you protect your peace and your space with everyone in your face? Like, how do you how do you deal with it? When I really want to protect it, I just Speaker 1 (5:52) stay in the house. Homesick. that's how you that's how you do it because it's No, we can go ahead and take the socks. They can see how tired I am. It is it is an adjustment when you are a people person and you love people but then people can people and As the beautiful Jasmine Crockett share with me she said it is a gift and a curse to be so loved Speaker 1 (6:25) And I'm just navigating through that, you know, because at first it was contained, you know, it was it was, you know, your your community and your tribe, you know, they know you're amazing. But then when the world catches on, it's a different thing. And you can sometimes find yourself just being tugged at in so many different directions, wanting to say yes, wanting to, you know. be there for people, wanting to be everywhere, everything for everybody all at once. And it's not possible without a crash out and a burnout. Speaker 3 (6:58) Yeah, man, I feel like I oscillate, you know, at times between dealing with fame and a Forever paradigm of gratitude like that's where I try to get to mm Speaker 2 (7:12) -hmm, you Speaker 3 (7:13) know, I mean I'd be like I'm very grateful that you know saying you want to like take a picture with me well, I'm like in two different socks and like at the grocery store I mean with a dirty wife Peter. I'm grateful for that. You know me but also like Here I might be with my son with my family, you know, and uh, I think about celebrity in the way that I was saying this about the Meg stallion thing recently was that, um, Speaker 3 (7:42) I often have found, I hear people say, oh, well, she is a public person. She has invited certain criticisms to her. Not her to make it about her, but to say public people invite scrutiny because they've ascended to a space of visibility for one reason or another. And obviously it's profitable, you know, that there's, there's, there's that dimension to it, but also it. it minimizes the humanity of the artist in the eyes of much of the public because they think now that you're in a space of visibility or wealth or however they play it, that like your space is not your own anymore, that it belongs to them. Speaker 1 (8:30) That. So one thing, you can be grateful and still unhappy. Speaker 3 (8:37) We Speaker 1 (8:37) said it again you can be grateful and still unhappy You can be grateful for the home that you have over, you know, the roof that you have over your head But there could be calamity and an abuse going on in the home as well So that's one. Um, the other thing is I think a lot of times when we put ourselves out there, especially when we're very personable People feel entitled to You and your body and your time and and your space when the only thing that you're entitled to is the art that I put out not me the person and I think sometimes they they associate the art with who I am and that's a separate thing That's something that I do. Mm-hmm, but it's not who I am that's the huge paradigm shift though Speaker 3 (9:27) anyway, because As artists, we have a tendency so often to make what we do the central tenet of our identity. But I've seen that in my life destroy my fucking mental health. Speaker 1 (9:41) Hand me my phone. Because I got a note. So this is what I want to talk about. Come on. So first and foremost, just because I'm not a fan of your work or I don't like it doesn't mean I'm hating. It just means I'm not your target audience. And one thing that I've I've discovered is a lot of times people will equate. Who they are with what they do so when you don't like what it is that they do they take that as a personal dig when in reality It's not about for me. It's not about what you do. It's who you are as a person So that's what I'm supporting man Speaker 3 (10:15) comment had this bar He said if I don't like it, I don't like it. They don't mean that I'm hating but we at this time now though where it's like Everyone has a voice. Like the ability to capture attention is democratized in such a way that it's like it's inspired. Speaker 3 (10:35) Much putting around weak though because you like man if I say something about this everybody gonna see you know and that and I'm gonna be called a hater cuz I don't like the shit I mean, but I'm with you. Well everything well, Speaker 1 (10:48) everything doesn't need to be said everything doesn't need a public opinion Now if you come and ask me or you give it to me and say hey, what do you think and then I'm like, well Play Speaker 3 (10:57) you weeks like what's your response cuz cuz me I don't tell them Truth at all. I look for no one Speaker 2 (11:06) small Speaker 3 (11:07) thing. I'd be like, oh, yeah The hi-hat it was a nice see I Speaker 1 (11:12) and this is something I need to so, you know I started doing stand-up and I told a story about the time that um, you know and I get I will have gotten tracks sent to me or you know projects and you know just to get an opinion but if