Would You Smash?: Aunties Reveal Who'd Get The Panties At Essence Fest
Entertainment
Essence Music Festival in New Orleans is a destination for women of color on Fourth of July weekend. This year, headliners included Frankie Beverly and Maze as well as Charlie Wilson. Both are the hotties of their generation. Jezebel investigated which vintage bae still riles up their fans and asked the black auntie set who they’d rather smash: Frankie or Charlie?
It was a tough call for the many women we surveyed—each man has his strengths. Discovered by the ultimate sex bomb Marvin Gaye, Frankie Beverly and Maze went on to create the unofficial black national anthem “Before I Let Go,” its runner-up “Joy and Pain,” and tour America’s Jazz fest circuit like the Grateful Dead, just with all white outfits and two-stepping. Uncle Charlie, on the other hand, saved Snoop Dogg’s marriage, moves like he’s 22 and routinely helps contemporary stars take their albums to the next level (see Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or Snoop’s Bush as examples).
Here’s what America’s aunties had to say:
Auntie Maureen and Auntie BJ (pictured at top): Definitely Charlie! But we’ve been watching Maze for years, we love Frankie Beverly too!
Auntie Jan: Charlie’s got that energy, the older he becomes the richer his talent becomes. He relates to the people, you can feel him, it’s electric.
Auntie Maureen: He’s genuine, real, he’s the people’s people!
Auntie BJ: We can’t remember the first time we saw them, that’s what happens when you’re born in the ‘50s!
Auntie Maureen: But don’t get it twisted, we’re Maze fans first. I got my white hat first, then I had to get my outfit to match my hat!
Auntie Vanessa (at left): Charlie, Charlie, Charlie! Oh my God! That’s why I came here from South Carolina, for Charlie, Charlie, Charlie! Maze, I love them too but they’d have to do what Charlie just did and I don’t think they can.