Max Bell is not, and has never been, a juggalo. If White Jesus was the introduction, then The Life and Times of Johnny Valiant is the autobiography, the book you’ve been waiting to read. Emotional and psychological wounds are (re)opened and drained, bled until one wonders if there is anything left in the self-dissecting patient. Sixteen […]

Max Bell may have written positive words about a Drake album once. There are a number of early articles/blog posts/pieces of writing I’d like deleted, wiped from existence. Some of those pieces could’ve benefited from more time spent behind the keyboard, some might’ve needed more editing from whoever was kind enough to let me write for […]

Max Bell always preferred Allen Iverson. Today marks the re-release of Shaquille O’Neal’s rookie-season Reeboks shoes, The Shaq Attaq. If I had some disposable income—$160, plus tax—I’d be outside of Footlocker with my lawn chair and G-Pen like all of the other sneaker heads. Instead, I’ve settled for DJ Goulet’s (that one) commemorative Shaq Attaq mix, which […]

Last year’s “Skelethon” surpassed expectations, both lyrically and production-wise. Personal tragedy, five years of gestation and creation, a few side projects here and there, and Aesop Rock emerged with his best album sans Blockhead. It might be his best album to date, or at least his most approachable. After his second weekend at Coachella, Aesop is headed […]

Max Bell ghostwrote BAYTL Hucci is 17.  He hasn’t had much time to master Fruity Loops or how to monetize his Soundcloud following (currently over 20,000 and counting). But make no mistake, Brighton’s Ollie O’ Neil has put in serious work and is starting to come into his own. Scroll down his Soundcloud. You’ll find […]

Max Bell’s heart pumps coffee. The EP is often the best distillation of an artist’s/group’s early material. There’s no room for the extraneous or sub-par. If not excised, there’s no place for the lame to hide. For groups that go with the LP the first time out, the skip button is usually hit, and you […]

Max Bell was very excited to see Tech N9ne at Paid Dues. Until recent, I thought that Gwinnett County-bred Rittz  was just a rapper who looked like a hairier and thugged out Steven Wright. I had no idea he was the guy ripping Yelawolf’s “My Box Chevy Pt. 3” or that I’d completely slept on […]

Max Bell is excited for Paid Dues. If you haven’t heard Awolnation’s “Sail” yet, then you either haven’t turned on your radio or your TV since June of 2011. Or, like me, you’ve done your damndest to ignore it. The song is everywhere. Like here, here, here, and here.  It’s a well-articulated and well-funded (they’re on Red […]

Max Bell is the Morris Day of the blogosphere. First impressions can make or break you. That’s always been the case, but lately, they’ve become the foundation of hype for still-developing rappers who aren’t yet worthy of the adulation. When I think about the too-much too-soon trend, the first name that comes to mind is […]

Max Bell must be stone crazy. Cube was right about life being “a marathon.” But when talking about the rap game, it might be fair to say that it is, in actuality, a “Marijuana Thon”—the long race to the finish line really won by the man (or woman) capable of smoking the highest grade of […]