MaxoKream

“Before I made it rapping or anything, I was popular,” Maxo tells me in his Houston loft. “I’ve been popular all through high school.” Maxo and his Kream associates were the start of a new wave in Houston rap. He arrived just as social media was beginning to break down the regional barriers that had defined modern hip-hop. It was a period when everyone from A$AP Rocky to Playboi Carti were making their way through the city, soaking up the emergent streetwear culture, along with the unique creative flexibility present. “I was putting on rappers before I was rapping, coming out to the city and shit. I was fuckin’ with Travis, fuckin’ with A$AP Ferg. You know what I’m saying? All before I was even rapping.” Maxo’s keen sense of business comes from a mix of traditional hustling and sneaker culture, which puts a premium on authenticity and taste. His music has the same appeal. He strictly speaks the truth when it comes to the real-life snippets in his raps, and he’s careful never to glorify violence or street life. “My goal was initially to get money — to really get like a legal job, to be honest,” says Maxo, who is preparing the release of his next album this summer. “I just embraced it and took everything that came with rapping.”