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Cadillac lifetime achievement award


Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly


IN LOVE WITH WHAT THEY DO By Isoul H. Harris


Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, above, from left: Calvin Napper, Carl Wheeler, Beverly, Larry Kimpel, Roame Lowry, Vance Taylor and Jubu Smith. Below left: Beverly performing at the Essence Festival in New Orleans


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wth ex energy as te n e


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& on awa absolute co rast to t e sce e outsi e, si s a m


he CBS building in midtown Manhattan is abuzz


with excitement. The energy is palpable as teen dreams


MiMindlless Behavior (a B2K-esque boy bandband) and Astro (the cocksure rapper made fam Co ha “


However, only a few steps away, behind a closed door, in absolute contrast to the scene outside, sits a musical legend


patiently waiting for his time on air. But, with 35 years of hit albums, classic songs and sold-out tours, he’s no stranger to the spotlight or fi ckle fanfare. Frankie Beverly, the leader of the soul collective Maze, can teach these young’uns not just about dealing with fame and suc- cess, but, more importantly, how to keep it. “Do your job, provide what your fans want and then keep to your-


self,” says the 65-year-old Philadelphia native. “You can’t be in people’s faces all the time and expect them to stay interested.” Beverly’s advice belies all beliefs of the current Twitter-driven


generation, where constant feeds-of-life updates are expected from their idols of choice. If this current crop of celebs were to listen to Beverly, maybe they could look forward to three decades of admira-


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tion — including receiving the highest honor at this year’s BET Awards on July 1: the Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award. “I was shocked at fi rst,” he says of the call he received informing


him of the recognition. “I have my feelings about these awards, after having gone so long without. You learn to live without it. But I cannot lie and say I don’t like being acknowledged!” While growing up, Beverly idolized Sam Cooke and Frankie


famous on Simon Cowell’s X-Factor) have staged an “occupy 106 & Park.”


Lymon. In fact, the latter is responsible for his moniker. “My real name is Howard, but I took the name because I used to sing Frankie Lymon songs on the street corners and people would call me Little Frankie!” Beverly formed the group the Butlers, and later changed the name to Raw Soul and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Another group name change was motivated by yet another soul music legend. “Marvin Gaye loved our music and we toured with him as his opening act, but he hated our name, Raw Soul, and begged us to change it, so we came up with Maze.” Over the course of his career, Beverly has released eight albums


(all certifi ed Gold), and as a touring act Maze has become a perma- nent fi xture on the concert soul/funk circuit. The group was the highly anticipated closing act at the popular summer Essence Music Festival in New Orleans for years. Everyone from Kelly Price to 50 Cent has sampled the group’s music, and Jill Scott is planning a remake of the classic “I Love You Too Much.” Beverly has a new album in the works — the fi rst in almost 20 years — and has no plans of slowing down. “Being in love with what you do is important,” says the singer,


songwriter, musician and producer. “I was lucky. At six years old I knew I wanted to sing, and I have never deviated from it.” He also has never veered from his now-trademark all-white outfi ts onstage, and the fans have followed suit. “One of the best memories of my entire career was performing at The Taste of Chicago a few years back. We went onstage to see over 250,000 people in all white. It was beautiful.” And with that, he leaves the peace of his dressing room for the pubescent chaos awaiting. After all, the kids need some good music too.


FAR LEFT: GETTY IMAGES


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