Review Summary: Purple City Burner
Maxo Kream- according to an interview I read- thinks Houston rap is dead. I mean
Welcome 2 Texas Vol. 3 wasn't amazing, but all the same there's new Z-Ro raps to look forward to
at the very least. Still I guess I believe this self-proclaimed sneakerhead (Kream stands for Kicks Rule Everything Around Me), because when I texted my friend who lives in Houston asking her about the city's rap scene she said "Oh, well, I saw Logic a few months ago!"
Scary.
Maxo, fortunately, has the answer with his sophomore mixtape
Quiccstrikes. Houston is called Purple City due to the
retarded amounts of lean it's residents drink. Fortunately there's not an overabundance of rapping about that on this tape- though the cover art with Maxo's beard dripping purple drank into a doublecup is pretty rad. There also isn't an overabundance of chopped and screwed vocals either, which makes the tape all the more accessible.
What there is on
Quiccstrikes, however, is a choice selection of some of the best trap beats in the dirty south. On the lead single, "Lewinsky," Maxo barks "Fucka prosecutor and fuck the DA/Motherfucker the judge, I'll spray him with the maze/Fuck the bailiff, put the bullet in his face/And when I get court make sure you play this tape," over a lumbering giant of a bassline and a menacingly devilish guitar riff. "Whitney Houston" offers some of the most shout-a-longable lyrics ever uttered in rap as Maxo opens with
"Young ass niggas mobbin, screaming fuck the institution
Hella stupid, rob and shooting
If we meet it's execution
Flipping bitches like gymnastics, she gonna let me chop and screw it
Got that work for distributions
And this weed in Whitney Houston"
Maxo shows he can share the mic on "Mob Of Gods" and "Purple City Stars," two standout tracks featuring A$AP Ant and fellow Texas-native Le$ respectively. "Hamsterdam" serves up a hazy glimpse at life in the big city club scene. On "Quarterbaccs" Maxo spits "We don't call 'em quarter pounds/Bitch we call 'em quarterbaccs." This is a good insight into where he is as a businessman. He's in the stage where's he's reuppin' on quarter pounds. Not too shabby for someone so fresh on the comeup. With that said, Maxo Kream is the next great hope for Houston rap.
Quiccstrikes is an improvement in every way on his debut tape,
Retro Card, and is a near perfect balance between drugged-out trap and spacey cloud rap. Maxo Kream, in his own words, is "Transparent, seeing through these sell-outs like a Christmas clearance." Should be a good holiday for dude if this tape catches on.
