Maxo Kream Remains the Rap Game’s Most Honest Storyteller on His Excellent New Album “Brandon Banks”
I’d say “Brandon Banks” is a top rap album of 2019, but Maxo Kream isn’t a rapper, he’s a f*****g grave digger
By Spencer Lobdell
Maxo Kream is the heart and soul of Houston rap. Hailing from the Alief specifically, the notorious trapper has been making waves since 2012 when he released his debut mixtape, Retro Card while he was still in high school. The project was followed up by a string of well-received tapes leading up to his critically acclaimed debut album Punken. The album was released independently in 2018 and boasted features such as Trippie Redd and 03 Greedo as well as solo cuts like “Bussdown” and fan favorite, “Grannies”.
Since the beginning, Maxo has hooked fans by telling hood stories with brutal honesty and locking into a unique flow that can be near hypnotic. Even when Kream is rapping about robbing and killing it’s hard to ever antagonize him because of how well he articulates his intentions as while as the circumstances that lead to his action. Maxo Kream’s music gives anyone who wasn’t raised in the trap a unique and important perspective that allows them to understand the lives of their fellow Americans far better.
The rollout to Maxo’s newest album was insanely fun to witness and showed early signs that Brandon Banks was going to be something special. It started in late January with the release of his excellent single “Meet Again”. Over the course of the five-minute song, Maxo locks into the instrumental and opens up about all of his homies that are either locked up or passed away with. His stories are captivating and every bar is masterfully crafted.
After a three month hiatus, he dropped the second single off the album titled “Still”. On the pulsing bop, Maxo announced that he had signed a record deal with RCA records for 1.5 million dollars making his forthcoming album his major-label debut.
A week later, the Texas trapper dropped his last single “She Live” which featured Houston hottie, Megan Thee Stallion. The song is so fun as the two rappers go back and forth over an infectious instrumental produced by TJ OSINULU. After the release of “She Live” the hay was in the barn for Maxo and Kream fans prepared to wait however long it would take to get the rappers highly anticipated new project.
On July 25th Maxo Kream released his major-label debut, Brandon Banks. The album runs for 48 minutes and is host to 15 tracks with impressive features from ScHoolboy Q and Travis Scott to Maxo’s blood brother KCG Josh.
The aforementioned single “Meet Again” acts as the album’s intro and is a perfect way for Maxo to hook any listeners unfamiliar with his music onto Brandon Banks.
The second track “Bissonnet” opens with a spoken anecdote from who we can only assume to be Brandon Banks. The voice condemns Maxo’s blue bandana and tells him to “take all his gangsta shit off and have a real discussion” with him. Maxo’s first four bars immediately following the narration is about his father leading us to infer that Brandon Banks is indeed Kream’s father. The song is enthralling, authentic, and dripping in southern swagger.
The third track “Change” is an easy standout on the excellent album in large part due to the exceptionally smooth instrumental which was actually derived from the same sample that fellow Alief emcee Travis Scott used on his Astroworld hit, “Yosemite”. On the track, Maxo dives into how his newfound wealth has changed his life. For Maxo, the only thing the money has changed is the size of his chain but for those around him, it totally warped the way they interact with Kream. While the money failed to alter his identity, he finds himself deeply affected by the murder of his little homie who told Maxo all he wanted was to be like him. The song is fantastic and a new sound we haven’t yet heard from the talented artist.
The fifth song “8 figures” is another standout on an album of keepers. The song again dives into the topic of wealth and how everyone wants to be rich but no one is ready to put in the work necessary. Kream uses the verses to specifically spotlight the years of work that it required him to acquire the bag he currently sits on. Halfway through the song, there is an epic beat switch that I believe to represent the wonderful moment when all the work finally paid off for Maxo and he began to make real money due to the fact that the song switches from a motivational song about the grind to a fun flex with a celebratory tone.
“3AM” features TDE rapper ScHoolboy Q and is absolutely sinister. The songs showcases the two menacing emcees robbing a house and flexing their lyrical prowess the entire time. Everything from the instrumental to Maxo’s tone is dark and foreshadowing and it's impossible to shake the fear that you might be next on Kream’s hitlist. ScHoolboy Q pulls up for the second verse and delivers an excellent offering with Q’s classic intensity, something that I would’ve liked to see more of on his most recent album CrasH Talk.
Perhaps the most eye-opening track on the album is the eleventh track “Prey 2 The Dope”. The song gives us a perspective into the life of a drug dealer and how threatening a potential drug drought can be. Maxo raps about how difficult it can be to get a real job when you’re raised in the hood leading to the only alternative source of income, dealing dope. This can be profitable but also unpredictable because if one’s supply of drugs gets cut off it could be life-threatening. These themes are articulated precisely by Maxo and the D.A. Doman instrumental makes this song absolutely addicting.
Two songs later we get the heart-felt “Brothers” which features Maxo’s real blood brother, KCG Josh. It must be a special sort of feeling to be able to give your brother a feature on your major-label debut. The song is simple and to the point: Maxo will ride for his brothers no matter what.
Maxo Kream’s Brandon Banks is undoubtedly his best work to date. The album is cohesive and sticks to its major themes of life in the hood and Maxo’s appreciation of his father. Spoken interjections from Maxo’s dad frequent the album and contribute to the overarching story that is the relationship between the two. It also seems that the more we understand the dynamic between Maxo and Brandon the more we understand Maxo Kream the artist and where he comes from. This context makes Kream’s hood stories all the more captivating and impactful.
While the album is certainly cohesive this didn’t take away from his innate ability to craft bangers. The album is packed full with hard-hitting tracks that don’t miss a beat. Songs like “8 Figures”, “Drizzy Draco”, and “Murda Blocc (Feat. A$AP Ferg)” provide OG Maxo fans with exactly what hooked them on the Alief emcee years ago; brutally honest hood bars over rattling southern trap instrumentals. Brandon Banks shows terrific growth from the heart and soul of Houston and is one of the best offerings so far this year.
Favorite Tracks:
8 Figures
3AM (Feat. ScHoolboy Q)
Prey 2 The Dope
Rating: 8.5
Listen to Brandon Banks here:
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