Another Link To The Chain: Maxo

Another Link To The Chain; an ongoing series highlighting rising hip-hop artists extending the history of the genre into the future

Representing: Los Angeles, California, USA

For Fans Of: Blu, Mos Def, Common, The Fugees, Atmosphere, Navy Blue, Isaiah Rashad, Quasimoto

        The lineage of underground California hip-hop has for generations been based upon the abstract bends and twists of the English language; Myka-9, Del The Funky Homosapien, Aceyalone, etc. Their lineage was and is carried on by the members of Hellfyre Club and to some degree Andre 3000 (a noted Hieroglyphics superfan), but the mind melding sonics that rose from a talent deprived mid-Aughts period where dozens of producers and MC’s that existed within the now fabled LA Beat Scene are the next generation continuation of the early 90's foundation. Most of the members of the Hellfyre Club came to the Beat Scene later on but the foundational pieces were the beatmakers more than the MC’s. Of course the Madlib, Nujabes, DOOM and Dilla (to which Donuts may truly be the ground zero of everything) class had their sounds and secret identities that helped crack the code of what instrumental hip-hop could be, but lateral to them were experimentalists working within electronic music (Flying Lotus, Teebs, Nosaj Thing), funk and R&B (Sa-Ra Creative Partners, DAM-Funk, J*Davey), and underground hip-hop (Ras G, Samiyam, Dibia$e), all finding a nesting place across California. All of these acts, a now defunct meeting place named Low End Theory, and a musical guru in Daddy Kev tied together and cultivated the LA Beat Scene. At Low End only the strongest could survive hectic freestyle battles fueled by a burn to be an alpha in a room of lyrical savants and live SP-404 performances. 

 NoYork! by Blu was a love letter to this scene, and has since become a hard to find cult classic that (along with dozen of Bandcamp and Youtube only release from the aforementioned Low End players) sparked a generation of poets to use the warmth of cheap mics and analog emulators to transfer the feelings of comfort they longed for most in their darkest moments.  Whether they’ve heard the projects directly or heard those who carry it as a totem (or found an alternate influence from the even more rugged Memphis rap tape ecosystem of the 90’s) ovrkst., Mavi, MIKE, loji, and Pink Siifu created their own hissing and popping audio experiences despite computers being the centerpiece of creation in these albums. Production choices, muddled vocal mixes and similar topic bases (mental health, systemic racism, holistic medicine, self-improvement, grabba leaf by the pounds) ties together this generation of MC’s. “Lo-Fi rap” frustrates those labeled it the way “neo-soul” did the same 20 years ago, but from it has come the most important underground artists in years. One of those artists, Maxo, was the first to sign a major label deal, pushing this sound closer to the mainstream without already being a known commodity the way Earl Sweatshirt was when he released Some Rap Songs, the definitive work of this sub-genre.

            For many underground heads the name Maxo comes to light with “Same Hoodie Since ‘05”, a reverb drenched joint revisiting his lineage and how he grew from boy into young man. The slow thump of the drums matches his muted anger, always sounding a single bar away from a scream. The Smile project from which the single came is produced in full by Lastnamedavid (credits since have piled up with YL, Medhane, Caleb Giles), and is a beta-version of his next projects to come. His Def Jam debut EP LIL BIG MAN is an entry point for those wanting to hearing an abstract realist over beats that feel closer to hip-hop tradition, but with Even God Has A Sense Of Humor Maxo is searching for something more, delivering with grace a new soul into our overly automated world. Debbie's Son, his second record of 2023 is more liberated in his performances. Liberation in his delivery is plain as day, with a tone that shifts some songs from verse to verse. So many perspectives exist within Maxo as he views his story, and for the first time everyone gets a word in. The soundscape of Humor (the Def Jam blessed LP) and Debbie's Son (his first independent post-Def Jam release) are closer to Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah Pt. 1 than his LA counterparts Drakeo The Ruler or even Earl. It's an attempted departure from what the idea of the LA underground is supposed to sound like, but pieces of a past generation still breathe through it. It’s Lo-fi rap meeting dream pop, slam poetry connecting with an almost Southern dirt road hip-hop type of bounce. It’s one birthed from that raw soulfulness melding into the robotics of a modern studio; the kind where the line between home and recording booth could just be a single wire. The fingers of man pressing the triggers of the machine, forming a symbiotic universe where a heartbeat means as much as a WiFi connection. It’s an atmosphere full of delays and reverbs, the sound of a living deprivation tank. Accordion runs, organs, windchimes, live drum breaks, every instrument that can tickle deep in your ear and sound good from 10,000 feet is used to build the world. Bleeding out from his strained speaking voice or raspy whispers is the divinity of Georgia Anne Muldrow and the questioning of a long past philosopher. In his rap style, the traditional “bars” that rap heads value are erased and replaced with anecdotes and affirmations of a man who has felt too much, cries to the sky instead of hollow calls for hands in the air. Worlds away from Hieroglyphics in presence on every record, yet the DNA lives through in a form no one could have predicted. The LA Beat Scene was in many ways galactic jazz, smoked out hip-hop, and pioneering electronica mashing together into a collage of humanistic beauty. Maxo finds his way with similar tricks, but his focus on relatability and bearing his soul over the unobtainable idea of technical perfection leads to worlds unknown.

Album To Check: LIL BIG MAN 

Best Songs: “Strongside”, “Face Of Stone”, “Nuri”

Written By: Anthony Seaman (@soflogemstone on IG & Twitter)