As 2018 ended, many Album Of The Year lists came out and to be honest, where is the respect?
If you’re going to rank Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap top 5, 10 or 15, Maxo Kream’s Punken should be right beside it. Our post on Punken here.
Due to these lists, it has become evident, that despite the consistent body of work, and his best release to date, Maxo is not getting the respect he deserves. In the community he moves, among artists and producers, but not the “gatekeepers” that feed the audience.
Above is the video for Roaches, the second to last track off Punken.
“Remember roaches in my ashtray and roaches in my cereal, Air Force knockoffs with the Gucci print material. Way before the iPhones, Twitter, Gram, socials, I’m talking bout Nextels, chirps, Boost mobiles. Back when a face tat was for OG killers, now I’m seeing teardrops on you Soundcloud… remember back when music had content and metaphors…”
This game is a popularity contest, and though Nipsey absolutely deserves his flowers, so does Maxo. What I see, and why I bring up what I bring up, Nip has been around a few more years, but also made noise charging $1000 a tape back in the day. Maxo doesn’t yet have that one viral moment. It should be the quality of the work, and it hardly ever is.
Nor does he have that one hit. Not to discredit, but it definitely attracts the masses.
Punken deserved to be up there, and Meet Again solidifies that statement in my book. Produced and mixed by the legendary Mike Dean, Maxo paints another vivid picture. Punken is full of stories. This time, the picture (story) is similar to One Love by Nas.
Check the music and leave what you feel below. We’re not writers, we’re fans.