Brittany Packnett

Brittany Packnett Instagram – Frankie Beverly in all white will forever be what heaven feels like.

Only family gets to call us by our nicknames. And Howard Stanley Beverly thought us all family enough to let us call him Frankie. The purest indication that when he sang ‘We Are One,’ he meant it from the most generous of hearts.

It takes ancestral connection and spiritual discipline to build circles unbroken in uncertain times. but with every performance, every festival, every track and every vinyl, you’ve given us a reason to feel the warmth of the sun on our faces and the glow of love surrounding to remind us that through the Joy and Pain, we are each divine, worthy of the circle and worthy of love. I’ll never know precisely how you did it, but I’ll be forever blessed that you saw fit to do it.

@stevie_elem said it best: “ I knew I was part of something divine. As the opening notes of “Joy and Pain” filled the air, the drums, congas and hand claps reverberated through our chests, igniting a familiar yet unrehearsed ancestral response. In unison, we chanted, “Go ’head, go ’head, go ’head,” our voices rising as Frankie, in his signature white head-to-toe linen, teased us with Maze’s famous synth sounds.

The deep, spiritual groove was a gateway to pure, uninhibited joy and freedom. And we moved as one band, one sound—electric slidin’ in all of our perfect and playful moves. With our singin’ and sanctified!”

Uncle Frankie, Godfather Frankie, Mr. Beverly…

The light you’ve filled our lives with is forever impossible to extinguish. Take your rightful place in the kingdom: you no longer have to create heaven for us on earth. Simply rest in the glory you’ve well earned.

I pray we have learned the lessons of your life, lyrics and art—that as Black folks, holding each other as worthy and divine is what we owe each other. I pray that as we lose our elders, we don’t lose the wisdom. Because in our lowest moments, we lift us like no one else can. You lifted us like no one else could.

I pray that as you take your eternal golden time of day, I hope you hear us lifting up your sounds— singing, swaying, praising, praying, holding one another just as you held us. 🕊️ | Posted on 11/Sep/2024 19:09:10