DuJuan Elliott

DuJuan Elliott (Blackshire) grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas singing and touring across the United States with the gospel quartet group, The Beard Singers, made up of his mother and her sisters. This exposed him to the opportunity to perform with acts such as The Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Gospel Keynotes, Shirley Caesar, Kirk Franklin, Mavis Staples and other artists. He eventually made the transition to singing secular music after moving to Houston, Texas. A few years later he sang backup vocals for Prince after being discovered by Morris Hayes, Prince’s keyboardist and musical director. DuJuan and his two brothers moved to Minneapolis to join The New Power Generation, Prince’s band. His backing vocals appear on several Prince/NPG Publishing Records, including: Rave Un2 The Joy The Fantastic, the Prince VH1 special, Rave Un2 The Year 2000, “2045: Radical Man” from the Bamboozled Soundtrack (Spike Lee Motion Picture), and Peace. In addition to his career as a vocalist, DuJuan's experience includes audio engineering, including setting up live sound and studio recording. This has taken him all over the country and allowed him the opportunity to set up sound for professional bands in all genres of music. DuJuan has been involved in setting up sound for companies like Guitar Center, including openings across the nation. In addition, he is also working on producing, mixing, and mastering for a growing group of independent clients under his label, Exit 74 Studios. DuJuan now performs as a solo artist. Elliott's music is a mixture of Pop, Soul, R&B, Rock, Funk and everything in between. His influences range from Michael Jackson, George Michael, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Coldplay, and of course, Prince, to The Gospel Keynotes and The Canton Spirituals.