About this artist
Street life and the struggle to make ends meet, as well as the multitude of effects they have on family relations, inform the frank narratives of rapper Maxo Kream. The native Texan went from local to national phenomenon during the front half of the 2010s. He first charted with Punken (2018), a full-length that led to a deal with major label RCA, which issued subsequent albums Brandon Banks (2019) and the indicatively titled Weight of the World (2021).
Maxo Kream (Emekwane Ogugua Biosah, Jr.) was born in Houston and raised in nearby Alief, where he got involved with gangs and supported himself with activity that led to a criminal record. He was drawn to recording music in high school, inspired by his everyday life, and first gained attention outside his region with a highly personalized revamp of Kendrick Lamar’s “Rigamortis.” Retro Card and Quicc Strikes, Maxo’s first two mixtapes, were self-released respectively in 2012 and 2013. He then connected with the TSO label for 2015′s #Maxo187, 2016′s The Persona Tape, and 2018′s Punken. The last volume in this run was Maxo’s first recording to register with Billboard, most notably on the Independent Albums and Heatseekers charts. The rapper consequently signed high-profile management and recording contracts with Roc Nation and RCA and made his major-label debut in 2019 with Brandon Banks. That album, featuring contributions from Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallion, entered the Billboard 200 at number 68.
In 2021, he issued Weight of the World, a deeply ruminative set led by the Tyler, The Creator collaboration “Big Persona.” 2022 brought the solo cut “Jigga Dame,” which appeared on a deluxe edition of Weight of the World. ~ Andy Kellman