Who is Maxon Victor when he’s not who students think he is?

Take away the title of student body president. What’s left will be an R&B and hip-hop music manager, songwriter and vocalist of a local quartet called Classified.

Last month, his 3-year-old group released a new album.

The 14-track CD, titled So Ready, features Victor and three of his friends who alternate between rapping a verse and harmonizing a hook about the realities of being young black men.

Some of those truths are vulgar, but Victor said the group – including his brother, James, and friends Mac Gaudin and James Morency -won’t make music with violent or gang-related themes.

“We’re college students,” he said. “We’re not thugs. We like to have a good time and not go too far from that perception.”

Still, the fact that Victor has a music group on the side may shock some. But Victor doesn’t keep his group a secret from USF. Classified performed at the Ying Yang Twins rap concert and at the 2004 Homecoming Masquerade Ball.

Freshman Ian Black said if Victor loves music, then he should speak up for a new USF School of Music building.

“We’re in dire need of one,” Black said. “New buildings, new equipment and a new facility would be great. And if he has a band, then he feels us. He knows what we’re looking for.”

Victor said he and student body Vice President Sameer Ahmed are serving as advocates in seeing that USF gets a new music building.

“We have written letters to Gov. (Jeb) Bush, and there has been much discussion about it,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”

In the music business, Victor said, “Never feel content with what you see or hear. You have to keep pushing.”

Classified doesn’t have a set schedule of upcoming performances, but Victor said the group takes requests or tries to appear on campus at least twice a month. So Ready is available at Phat Shack, 1517 7th Ave. in Ybor City.