“Meet Again”: Maxo Kream
Production: Teej & Mike Deen
Album: Brandon Banks
When asked “Why is the authenticity of your raps so important to you?”, Maxo Kream’s answered in a way that reveals much about his personality, “Why wouldn’t it be? Nothing I did was fake.”
For the former Crip affiliate, storytelling is the art and personal experience is the subject. On “Brandon Banks” we hear about arrests, deaths, trials and of course tribulations. The opener, “Meet Again”, is a heartfelt address to an incarcerated friend. Teej and Mike Dean handle the beat, slow synths set the mood as we find Maxo in a reflective mood, from recounting the happenings on “Murda Block” to heartbreakingly revealing that the unnamed inmate’s daughter just tried to walk. Make ‘em weep.
We thought that old-school storytellers had lost their place in the mumble rap era. Instead, Maxo proves an authentic narrator is as potent as ever.