He really see it like, “Damn, this is my son.” That’s my nigga now.
MAXO KREAM: R.I.P., man. Besides the black-and-green Supreme jersey, everything about the 29-year-old rapper emanates an OG persona. You can never stop crippin’. From Houston to St. Louis, Maxo Kream and 30 Deep Grimeyy crip together in the video to their latest collaboration. Money Du! I’m a rapper. I’ve been fighting, in shootouts, all that. There might be homies and cuz coming out with finger signs or something, but we be chilling. STEREOGUM: A lot of people don’t mention Papoose. Maxo was a popular rapper in his own right. STEREOGUM: ScHoolboy Q is on the album. Now if he tried that shit, I’d buss him in his fucking face. Plus [people] just know about the Crips vs. I know New York be big on, “You ain’t from here. Not preaching but reflecting on my life, as I should. STEREOGUM: How does the definition of being a Crip change as you leave the streets? Telling my business.” I’m like, look bro, I’m being real. Maxo's brother Madu is one of the main reasons we have Maxo Kream in the first place. Realness is in Maxo Kream’s DNA just as autobiography is hardwired into his music. Imagine being a kid, 11 years old. He's the third Crip affiliated rapper murdered in Los Angeles … STEREOGUM: Would you say that’s the main misconception about being a Crip? MAXO KREAM: Shit, it’s just the way you do it.
He gotta respect it. If not, you gon’ crash. The officers found the victim lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. I’m 29 but sometimes my brain be like an 18-year-old. When he comes downstairs to a Flatiron District hotel lobby, he gives the type of hard handshake that makes you aware you’re made of bones, and he greets me with a few words in his gruff Houston accent.
Shoutouts to Bloods, but we got it harder. The streets don’t love nobody. I have to constantly remind myself that Maxo Kream is a little less than two years older than me. Look at Snoop Dogg. Nigga on TV shows, Martha Stewart, cooking … beat a murder. He came in with that same [authoritative attitude], trying to scream-talk. Nas, Hov, Cassidy, Papoose, Kendrick.
He's the third Crip affiliated rapper murdered in Los Angeles in the last year.
I don’t do shit for clout. Kids go in the studio, make a song in 15 minutes. Hell yeah, I’m cool with his son YK [Yung Knxw] — that’s one of the legends. A lot of niggas lying about their shit, lying about their dads, and it ain’t real. STEREOGUM: Yeah. STEREOGUM: Does being on RCA now give you more access for artist collabs? Pre-order it here. He’s not in the streets; that’s an ideal career.
I went from little league Chuck-E-Cheese, to kicking doors, robbing niggas, serving fiends. I thought he had the ambulance coming, then the police ran in the house. Back in the day, he would scream like, “Shut up.” I’d get scared and cry.
While his peers’ material either addresses their pasts, tries on pop structures, or blends multi-regional influences, Maxo’s songs combine all three with startlingly frequent success. That’s his income; I’m not gonna fuck that up. He’s from New York though, huh? Like many other around-the-way OGs, once Maxo gets rolling with the conversation’s momentum, the stories come easily. That man rhymed from A to Z. I like “Take It To The Guns.” I like Papoose — he’s a lyrical legend. I don’t want to fuck that up either. Money Du! Bringing him aboard just shows how authentic it is. MTO News first learned of the news of Money Madu's death when rapper Joey Fatts gave his condolences to "fellow Crip Maxo Kream" for the murder of his brother Madu. I get it: He was trying to provide for his family. I love him, though — I don’t want nobody to think I’m disrespectful to my dad or nothing like that. Ah ah ah.” We be on that shit too, but real recognize real.
I assume you have to do that to make this album. Since I still got him in my life, I’mma show him off. STEREOGUM: How does your family react to seeing their stories on your records? We’re not gonna slander you on that shit; we’re gonna embrace you just like Bun B and Pimp C. He means something to New York because that’s where hip-hop started, but he means a lot to Houston. With him also being a Crip, do y’all trade stories? They respected me. MAXO KREAM: Yeah, because if I fuck with your music, I fuck with your music. By the time he came back, I’m like 14 — I’m full-fledged in the streets. MAXO KREAM: Shit, just another chapter into my life. A 12-hour session won’t get half a song done sometimes, because I really sit down and marinate on it. STEREOGUM: Your dad pops up a lot through your catalog. Another rapper was murdered yesterday in Los Angeles - the brother of popular Houston hip hop artists Maxo Cream. MAXO KREAM: Definitely. Hell yeah it was inspired by “One Love.”. Why’d you decide to make him a significant figure? In that little time, from 12 to 13, I went from a boy to a man.
From that time, I’ve been in house raids the rest of my life.
I could rap any line to my parents and they could tell you what day, this and that. From Houston to St. Louis, Maxo Kream and 30 Deep Grimeyy crip together in the video to their latest collaboration. And I’m still a solid nigga. It really be off the music. I’m trying to show people y’all trippin’. You gotta separate them two quick. The story was just so crazy; I didn’t know what my dad was doing or what he had going on. Clipping – Visions Of Bodies Being Burned, Holding Court With Maxo Kream, Rap’s Reigning Storyteller. A lot of people don’t have their fathers. STEREOGUM: You said you were afraid of your father at one point.
I ain’t gonna say what rapper, but I heard him say his dad wasn’t in his life. MAXO KREAM: Hell yeah.
Bloods.
Police have no information about a possible shooter or shooters. If they black, I’mma fuck with them. I’m not gonna stop any young black man on the road to get their money. I don’t be on Akademiks everyday or on shit like Shade Room. Cook it up like gumbo. I’m not 21 no more. I do authentic. Witnesses told police that the victim lived at the apartment and he went outside before he returned yelling, “I was shot.”One of the victims’ roommates called 911. I want people to walk with me, grow with me. MAXO KREAM: I was afraid of my dad until the day they kicked in the door and seen pistols on my mama and baby sister on the floor. Your email address will not be published. MAXO KREAM: It was, but at the same time I was just a kid. If you look through Maxo's whole catalogue of music, you'll find that he frequently referenced his brother, who he called his inspiration. But he recounts them as if they were proof of an honorable pedigree: His platinum-colored grills never hide behind his wild beard.
I went from being Trigger Maxo to what I’m talking about now. MAXO KREAM: At first when I started putting my dad inside my music, he was like [puts on Nigerian accent], “Why the fuck are you doing this to me? STEREOGUM: Was it difficult to reconcile with the fact that this authoritative figure got arrested? R.I.P. I’m influenced by Snoop Dogg in the industry. This is simply his ethos. Occupying handicap spots outside a shopping center, the two mob with their crews by waving their colored bandanas, throwing up their sets, and shooting dice. How many real Crips really doing that? Maxo slips in his lyrics during his anecdotes not to simply prove that he lives what he raps; they pop up too seamlessly for that. I fuck with street corner, dirty braids Meek Mill. R.I.P. STEREOGUM: I ask because I remember you did an interview where you pointed out that rappers pretend. Maxo was a popular rapper in his own right. I got responsibilities to my family, but I ain’t got kids or nothing like that. Your email address will not be published. It was basically about the first time I’ve been in a raid. I moved out the hood to the suburbs. And Money Badu represented the Crip set. I’m him. To see him where he at and what he’s pushing, for positivity… It’s sad because Nipsey Hussle died doing exactly what Crip means: Community Revolution In Progress. Less than half an hour passes as he recalls scenes from his life — the preteen Maxo watching his father get arrested for fraud, his cousin taking a 20-minute drive with his boat to help Maxo’s mother in Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath, the hard living of gangbanging in Houston’s streets — with a physical attention to detail.
That book over with. MAXO KREAM: Hell yeah, I fuck with ScHoolboy. I know how it is when they’re banging on us and we’re banging on them. Brandon Banks is out 7/19 via via Big Persona/88 Classic/RCA Records. Black “Christmas On Soul”, New Music: Wizkid Ft. Slimcase “Gucci Snake”, New Music: DJ Montay x DJ Jelly Ft. The-Dream, T-Pain & Twista “6 Minutes”, New Music: Mysonne “What’s Free (Freestyle)”, New Video: A$AP Rocky Ft. Rod Stewart, Miguel & Mark Ronson “Everyday”, New Video: Offset Ft. Gucci Mane “Quarter Milli”, New Video: NBA Youngboy Ft. PnB Rock “Scenes”, New Video: ScHoolboy Q Ft. Travis Scott “cHopstix”, New Video: PnB Rock Ft. XXXTentacion “Middle Child”. Officers responded to a shooting call inside an apartment along the 20500 block of Ventura Boulevard about 4:25 a.m. Nas is one of my favorite rappers. MAXO KREAM: I feel like you don’t have to be from Houston to be part of our legacy, because we’re a real city — a trill city. I’m influenced by ScHoolboy Q in the industry. You see something like that and it just fucks up your whole head.
He might be a bitch nigga, but he might be taking care of his momma and family. Best part of my life: That’s why I’m rocking Supreme right now, you feel me? This is not the streets, it’s the industry. Early Meek Mill. And Money Badu represented the Crip set. By the time I got grown, I done had my own run-ins and been through shit. Would you work with that sort of rapper? The new project is his first on a major label, but the dense influences and storytelling focus that put him in Scarface and UGK’s lineage remains unvarnished. I could snap into Trigger Maxo quick and fuck all that shit up, which is ignorant, so I’m not doing that. STEREOGUM: What should we get from Brandon Banks? MAXO KREAM: On my first tape, Retro Card, I had a song called “Abortions”: “It started in 2001, cops ran in the house and they all had guns.” That story right there stuck to a lot of people. Anybody could come with a red flag and claim Blood. We’re from the same set, 52 Hoover Gangster Crip. I’m the man of the house, so I’ve been providing. STEREOGUM: Did Bushwick Bill’s death affect you? It’s like a brotherhood. I’m comfortable with growing as a man. A man who was originally from Texas was fatally shot in his Woodland Hills apartment early Monday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. I feel like right now, shit is not authentic no more. I’m trying to learn, you feel me? It’s one thing to get influenced by the homies in the streets; it’s another thing to get influenced by the homies in the industry. Not only that: [Going from] having money to not having shit as a kid fucks you up. And I’m comfortable and can accept that because I know what I need to work on. I don’t care what set you’re in. But at the same time, I fuck with him as a man and he fucks with me as a man, because me and ScHoolboy don’t be out on the block gangbanging.
The way it’s projected is not having a dad is cool — like being from the hood is cool and shit.
I’m influenced by Nipsey Hussle, because I know where he’s come from.