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Superstar
After seeing Kanye changed his album name to Waves, figured I had to post my interview with the waviest one alive. This is from 2011 and we did it over the phone while he was in jail.
Max. B Waviest Rapper Ever - The Redhands Report
Catching Up With Max B: Talks New Album, Passion For Music
Published 04/27/2011
There are a millions of music fans today with twice as many rappers fighting for their attention. With that ratio, it is hard to prosper as a hip-hop artist in today’s market. You have to really have something special to stand out from the rest. This is the case with Max B, aka Biggavelli, aka the man of a million wavy names.
Max is a Harlem native, who is currently incarcerated on a 75-year bid while awaiting his appeal. Many people may know Max from his start with Jim Jones and Stack Bundles in the collective called Byrd Gang. You may know Max’s music and not even know it was him because he wrote many hit songs for Jim Jones including his biggest hit, “We Fly High”.
Fast forward to 2011 and Max is supporting his first official solo album, Vigilante Season, from prison. In this interview, Max talks about his passion for music, his influences, his new album, and about the man that would be a fallen legend, Stack Bundles.
BallerStatus.com: It’s good to see you putting out this album…
Max B: Definitely it’s been a long time coming and I wish I were out there to really put that lean on it like you supposed to have. It’s all good. It’s still out there for the people. Shout out to Amalgam Digital.
BallerStatus.com: You have a real distinct style. Who influenced you to do the singing and the rapping thing?
Max B: It just came about from recording and me working. I put it all together by working hard and trying to sound different than these other cats. I didn’t even know until I first recorded like “Oh sh**, I got something different here.” I grew up on [Tupac], NWA, Scarface and Jay-Z … all those dudes. I wanted my sound to sound distinguished and it all came together. Then, I came up with Biggavell and I knew I had to back that statement up. I just stuck with what I was doing and it ended up being epic.
BallerStatus.com: What about outside of hip-hop? Because I heard you mention Rick James on the new album.
Max B: Oh yea, I love other music like Rick James, Luther Vandross and all that old stuff. I grew up on that stuff, so I incorporated it into my new sound. That is why I am so soulful because those are my influences. History repeats itself and my music is the newer version of that stuff. These new cats don’t understand. You gotta mix that classical with the new stuff.
BallerStatus.com: You see a lot of guys that say they aren’t rappers, they are hustlers. It seems like you genuinely have passion and love hip-hop.
Max B: It’s all about the passion and these new guys trying to make that quick buck. You can’t be a professional basketball player if you are just trying to make a quick buck. You got to train hard and practice. It’s not going to happen overnight. That’s what I bring to my music: the passion, the drive, and the realness. The real money and longevity comes if you are really passionate and put in the work. Look at all the successful artists that did 40 to 50 million sold; they all have crazy passion. That’s the #1 thing to me is the passion.
BallerStatus.com: You’re on a little vacation right now, but have you been following any of these new guys out?
Max B: Even when I was home I didn’t listen to the new guys that much. If it comes across me and I hear them, then I hear them. I am not really impressed, I am just focusing on me and my crew. I make sure my family is straight, but I wish these other dudes luck and keep the game going. I am out the loop right now, but when I come home, it’s on. I am holding the streets down with my new album, Vigilante Season, which is out now.
BallerStatus.com: A lot of these new guys are doing stuff now that you been doing — the singing and harmonizing with the raps and all that. People like Drake and Wiz Khalifa are making hits off of your formula.
Max B: I know for a fact all them dudes listened to my music at one time. Drake reached out to my management a while ago before any one knew who he was. My assistant was like, “This kid Drake wants to do a song”. I didn’t know who he was. He definitely has talent, don’t get me wrong. I heard one song by Wiz Khalifa; he seems straight too. When it comes to powerful and passionate music, that’s me man. I’m from the gutter. My lifestyle is crazy and I put that in my music. Plus, my production is always crazy and they life was crazy too. So, I got crazy passionate producers who supply me with that heat. We doing what we do and Vigilante Season is what we on right now. I want to see what these new dudes sound like after this album drops.
BallerStatus.com: Where do you see your career going?
Max B: I would love to be an entrepreneur one day and help other artist develop himself or herself. I want to continue to work in the music business and transition to bigger things like Hollywood and stuff. For now, it is what it is. I am just trying to get outta here. I am not even close to being finished, I want to put out a 1,000 albums. I want to have that consistency and perform at a high level. I want the world to have 1,000 of my records and listen to them and say “Biggavell drops classics.” In 30 years, I want people to say “Nobody can f*** with Max B.”
BallerStatus.com: The #1 question the fans asked me to ask you is how is the appeal going?
Max B: All my paper work and all that are looking real good right now. Everything has been submitted, so I am waiting a few more months ’till the courts ok it. I am trying to be home by the end of the summer, maybe the fall.
BallerStatus.com: You will be out pretty soon?
Max B: Tell the fans Biggavell is coming home real soon. Hell yea, you can tell them that.
BallerStatus.com: A lot of people knew it was going to happen, they just didn’t know when it was going down.
Max B: Yea just tell them they got to be a little patient on this one. They waited 10 years for Shyne and he came home and disappointed them. I am going to come home and close it up, that’s all I can tell the people.
BallerStatus.com: When the Byrdgang was all together with you, Stack Bundles, and Noe, you guys were going to be that new clique. Can you tell us a Stack Bundles story?
Max B: That’s my man, Balcony Bundles. He’s crazy; that’s my man. We got so much history and we did so many records. We had all nighters in the studio. When I first met Stacks, him and Jim were going through some semi-little beef, right? I guess they had a similar look and style, and Jim didn’t know who he really was. He heard of him, but I really heard him on all the tapes, like DJ Clue and stuff. I was a fan when I was locked up. Jim comes to the studio asking me about Stacks, because at the time, it was just Jim and I. Mel Murda and them dudes weren’t in the picture yet; it was Jim and I. Jim asked me about Stacks and I say “You bring Stacks in and we gonna kill the game.” I said, “Stacks is real heavy and he nice, let’s bring em in.”
Stacks comes to the studio, you know, with his own little style; he would go in the corner and mumble words and putting his verses together and putting his hands together all weird. I’ll look at him while I’m in the other corner writing my sh** down. We just used to work together and we put the first M.O.B. mixtape together in like a week in Miami. That’s my man for real; we used to work together a lot. He was a few years younger than me, but I love him to death. That’s my n**** for real. Rest in peace to him; he doesn’t get the due he is owed, but you know how this game is. That’s why you gotta put your foot on these n****s’ necks. Rest in peace to my brother Stack Bundles forever. The game doesn’t have any respect like that; it’s just crazy.
BallerStatus.com: Tell us about Vigilante Season.
Max B: Shout out to Amalgam Digital, we got about 15 cuts with production from Dame Grease and Young Los. I keep this album in-house; it’s real wavy with Mack Mustard and Al Pac on there. I keep it wavy, so I don’t need a lot of collabos or features. I just kept it my family and me. We kept it real spunky, real Max B-ish, real, real wavy baby. Shout out to my fans and shout out to you for doing this interview.
Check out FreeMaxB.net I got a radio show popping off Tuesdays and Saturdays from 4:30 – 9. We got the movement popping let’s get wavy owww.
Max. B Waviest Rapper Ever - The Redhands Report
I never got exposed for anything. When does talking sh*t aboust someone = Exposal? You e thugs really dont know the diffeference between reality and online antics