Maxwell grew up in Hamburg Hohenfelde, a district where luxury and poverty are next door to each other.
After graduating from secondary school with good grades, he doesn’t make it to an apprenticeship. Women and the dream of a career as a footballer take up plenty of space in his head.
His brother introduced Maxwell to American hip-hop. Later, Maxwell devoted himself to the German hip-hop scene and met Gzuz and Bonez MC.
At that time, he was 15 years old, and the young Maxwell was far from thinking about his own rap career.
That doesn’t change until around 2011, when Maxwell and Bonez meet again by chance, and the head of the 187 street gang asks him if he doesn’t want to rap too. No sooner said than done, Maxwell joins the crew and contributes a few parts to “High Und Hungry” by Gzuz and Bonez.
In 2015, LX is now also a member of the Strassenbande. Over the common preference for weed, the idea of recording an album together germinates. “Obststand” goes through the roof and contributes to making the sound of the 187s known throughout the country.
Rough, dirty lyrics from the street for the street, without whitewashing or pessimism. The two even earn an Echo nomination in the category “Best Newcomer”, at a time when LX, who is six years older, is currently in prison.
His latest album, again together with LX, “Obststand 3” reached number 5 in the German album charts in the first week after release.
By the way, Maxwell doesn’t really care what kind of music others make, it should only be authentic, he said in an interview. “If a pop singer talks about malle and cocktails, that’s okay if that’s what he’s experiencing.”
