And another one drops from the upcoming "Mr. Wonderful"
| On the Front Porch, Looking at the Corner: An Interview with Saba | February 23, 2015 |
Saba catches up with Max Bell about growing up on the edge of the 'hood and the 'burbs, how he got started in rap, and about learning to play the piano with "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
| Croons and Crossovers: Post Malone’s “White Iverson” | February 12, 2015 |
Max Bell once owned an Iverson du-rag. The words ‘post Spooky Black’ are ridiculous. But there they are. Here we are. It’s 2015. Another pallid crooner seemingly unconcerned with cultural appropriation has emerged. He’s from Dallas and looks like Riff Raff’s hirsute Tumblr bred cousin. Less neon, more ripped denim and dead-eyed photos. The braids, […]
| Premiere: Jordan Raf “Pages Apart” prod. by Toylight | January 30, 2015 |
Max Bell is flabbergasted and blasted his Magnum PI Love in the age of Tinder and 140-character DMs. Sustainable or a sick joke? How do you get closer? 21-year-old Jordan Raf, an L.A. based UCLA art major cum R&B singer/producer, wants to know. After a summer abroad in Tokyo, Raf’s returned stateside with his forthcoming debut […]
| The Modest World According to A-F-R-O | January 26, 2015 |
Max Bell is second cousins twice removed with Lil Dap. Dismiss the teen renaissance of dense and dusty, jazz-inflected rap songs and you denounce Doom and Dilla. They’re the perennial link between the boom-bap of old and most contemporary iterations, their influence over high school rap fans as strong as it was when Tyler and […]
| Bring it Back: Is Lil Wayne’s “SFTW2” Worth the Wait? | January 21, 2015 |
After the frequent delays and label drama surrounding "Carter V," Lil Wayne attempts to regain his old magic.
| Satin Black in the Desert: Hanni El Khatib x Freddie Gibbs | January 16, 2015 |
Max Bell never gives up. The second season of True Detective has been cast. If only Hanni El Khatib and Freddie Gibbs had auditioned, if only they acted. Instead, both would rather reflect on 2Pac in the desert in ’95: fresh from Clinton Correctional, Mad Max leather fetish in full effect. Gibbs took the rhymes and […]
Max Bell is taking Peyton Manning’s latest playoff loss very hard Rap prides itself on reverence. The revered retain some modicum of relevance; the genre grows while never losing sight of its roots. But of late, ardent genuflection at the altar of the Golden Era has become many a rapper’s default. At best its unimaginative, at […]
Max Bell is cruising in the whip with Gene Shalit, eating scallops. Fighting fans and security guards. Rapping in port-o-potties. Throwing weed, TVs, and video game consoles into crowds. Consorting with Big Body Bes. To some, Action Bronson could seem “eccentric.” Hence, the second single off of his March 24th VICE/Atlantic debut, Mr. Wonderful, is “Actin […]
| Buying Cat Food with Aesop Rock | January 5, 2015 |
Max Bell taught Kate Upton the Cat Daddy. A man and his cat should not be underestimated. The cat keeps man home, keeps man working to keep it alive and well fed. For the unfamiliar, the working man pictured above is Aesop Rock. He is forever buying cat food and thus forever on a roll. […]
