Macon Magazine

T here's a pride and camaraderie that radiates from some sets of twins, perhaps because that unique bond is stronger than anything non-twins are able to experience. Many twins report leaning into their dual identity in their younger years, but diverging once they get older and need to claim their own path. Alvin and Calvin Waters, Macon-born, Atlanta-based entrepreneurs who have made a name for themselves worldwide as recording artists, producers, musicians, marketing moguls and tastemakers, don't seem to have this need. eir twin identity fits them like a source of power, of courage. Often you can spot the two dressed in similar outfits – sharp black jackets, distressed jeans, designer boots, dope sunglasses and their signature Keith and James fedoras (more on those later). "Some people wanna ask why we always dress alike," says Alvin. "A team wears a uniform so that when people see them, they can quickly identify the team. It represents unity – a winning team always displays its uniform." is team has been consistently winning since the 1980s. Alvin and Calvin grew up "country boys" in northeast Macon. ey have three siblings, and their parents, Louise and Willis Waters, have been married for 66 years. Alvin and Calvin occasionally visit their folks in Macon, though more often you'll find family visiting them in their Atlanta home. "Our family is great," says Alvin. "My parents are great. ey taught us the foundation of having a foundation – most people don't get taught that. My daddy taught me if you give your word, you gotta stand by it. And if you want something, you go after it and you don't take no for an answer." PLAYING FOR PARLIAMENT Fans of art, music and culture from an early age, Alvin and Calvin formed a breakdance group, the Junior Lockers, while still in high ALVIN AND CALVIN WATERS MAKE COOL HITS AND SELL HOT HATS Double down BY TRACI BURNS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT ODOM school. eir group was asked to take the stage during intermission at many Macon Coliseum concerts. "We'd do it for free. We just wanted to perform," says Alvin. One night, after performing at a Parliament Funkadelic show, the band asked the brothers – then only 16 years old – to go on tour with them. ey knew what their parents would say, but how many chances do you get to hit the road with one of the most outrageous, fascinating funk spectacles in music history? "So, we ran away and joined the circus," laughs Alvin, "and it definitely was a circus." Life on the road was cut short for the brothers when their parents ambushed them post-show at the downtown Atlanta Hilton with orders to pack their things and get in the car – or else. "I still don't know how they knew where we were," Alvin says. e brothers were devastated, but they credit their parents' intrusion as the best thing that could have happened to them at the time. "It was nothing but drugs on that tour," says Alvin. "Every time we'd go to the manager's room to get paid, he'd have a big tray of every drug you could imagine, and he'd say, 'You wanna get paid this way, or you want money?' We were kids – we were like, 'We don't know nothin' about that! Give us our money!' But it could have gotten out of hand." AC BLACK IS BORN Autodidacts from the start, Alvin and Calvin played trumpet and trombone in high school. ere was a band in Macon they wanted to play with, so after school they'd haul their instruments from Morningside Drive over to Napier Avenue to play and plead their case, but usually by the time they arrived, on foot and exhausted, the band would be gone. 62 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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