Max Bell saw a bag of weed on the floor. Reggie Noble is a lot like Devin the Dude. Both are perpetually lifted and gifted MCs overlooked by too many. Yet both have legions of blunted devotees across the globe. The primary difference between the two really comes down to their respective reactions to the […]

Max Bell may have heard that. It’s mostly the voice (© Guru). You can be a technically great rapper but sound like you’re reading a textbook aloud. I’ll leave names out and let you throw darts at your favorite Twitter pincushion. Tree doesn’t have this problem. His gravelly last-swisher rasp is somewhere between Tom Waits […]

Max Bell is somewhere hidden in this pile of records. Madlib has never left his devotees hanging. There was a good Quasimoto record this June and I’m sure many still haven’t listened to all of the Beat Konducta and Medicine Show releases (19 releases combined). For now, it seems as if Madlib won’t stop melting […]

Max Bell is also a scholar of the early work of Jungle from Queensbridge. There’s a treasure trove of Bandcamp gems waiting to be mined. And, like once-lost ‘45s spun by the likes of Peanut Butter Wolf and Dam-Funk, someday there will be a group of digital diggers unsatisfied with their cloud storage and Spotify […]

Max Bell has a Hieroglyphics baseball bat.  Jeff’s already said all that need be said about Souls of Mischief  and their canonical LP 93 ’til Infinity (read here), which is 20 years young and still worth many cab fares, a concert review, and more. Thus, though the words Bridget, frigid, and midget are forever linked in […]

Max Bell used to get it in Sherman Oaks. Cam’ron’s Ghetto Heaven Vol. 1 is here. No more rumors. No delays. The first official Cam’ron solo project since Crime Pays, expectations were high for those with pink Avirex Jackets and rhinestone studded throwbacks gathering dust in their closets. Thankfully, Cam has come back as real […]

Max Bell is elsewhere. The beat scene and R&B were interwined long before people with waxed handlebar mustaches and perfectly coifed hair (undoubtedly) felt the need to ironically classify it as “PBR&B.” Whether it’s James Blake, How to Dress Well, or even some of the Weeknd’s muzak, the blending of the two won’t stop anytime […]

Max Bell was thizzin when he wrote this. Bay Area rap comes and goes in the national rap consciousness. In the early ‘90s Digital Underground made impregnating someone in a Burger King bathroom socially acceptable.  Luniz’s “I Got 5 on It” remains in contention for the best smoking song of all time. Hyphy had its […]

Max Bell atoned for not celebrating Yom Kippur even though he’s not Jewish. Most instrumental albums suffer from a lack of cohesiveness. It’s the reason why I’m reluctant to check out most Bandcamp pages with the tag “beats” or  “instrumental.” More often than not, you’re apt to find a bunch of half-completed sketches; dusty, dull, […]

Max Bell is doing Jamaican dances. Sequels rarely live up to the original. For every Blues Brothers there’s a Blues Brothers 2000. You hope for the best yet end up disappointed, admiring the intent more than the product itself. Really, it’s a matter of capturing the spur of the moment, recording the perfect combination of […]