Max Minelli

Born in New Orleans, rapper Max Minelli was raised in Southern California. A coworker of his mother owned a recording studio, so at the age of ten Minelli took his love of rap — fueled mostly by Ice Cube’s vicious AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted album — and recorded his first song. He enjoyed the experience but soon moved back to Louisiana, losing his connection to the music industry. It was a disappointment and setback, but Minelli kept rapping. It paid off when he reached the age of 13 and met C-Loc, a successful Baton Rouge rapper who ran his own label. Minelli would join C-Loc’s Concentration Camp crew and appear on numerous C-Loc Presents Camp releases, but when C-Loc landed in prison in 2000 Minelli was left to fend for himself. He began releasing solo albums with the help of his Concentration Camp brothers J-Von and up-and-coming producer Happy Perez, who would soon find fame working with rapper Baby Bash. Minelli began to break with his 2005 release Get Served, a Southern favorite that drew the attention of the Koch label. He signed with the label in 2006 and began releasing a series of mixtapes to promote his next official release. With Perez as executive producer, Minelli released Remedy on Koch in 2008. ~ David Jeffries