Standing apart from the crowd, Los Angeles-based rapper Maxo has crafted a unique sound of lo-fi beats, warped samples, and conscious streams of lyrics detailing everyday life. Debuting in 2015 with the mixtape After Hours, Maxo went on to ink a deal with Def Jam, releasing two albums for the label, 2019's LIL BIG MAN and 2023's Even God Has a Sense of Humor, before going his own way with 2023's Debbie's Son.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Maxo (aka Maxamillian Allen) grew up on a diet of hip-hop. Inspired by his brother's work as an MC, Maxo initially started to rap to deal with the struggles of everyday life. While at college, he and a fellow classmate put together his debut mixtape, 2015's After Hours. The lo-fi, warped tape sound, which saw Maxo's diary-like flows delivered in a haze of dusty samples and breaks, broke away from the shiny production and overt lyrics of mainstream hip-hop. A second mixtape, SMILE, followed a few years later in 2018, before Maxo inked a deal with Def Jam. 2019 saw him issue his debut for the label, LIL BIG MAN. With production coming from SWARVY and lastnamedavid, the album departed from the lo-fi sound of his earlier work but kept the obscure samples and chronicles of everyday life. Following an eye-opening trip to Senegal with his mother, Maxo came back to the U.S. with a fresh outlook, but it was four years before his sophomore album for Def Jam would land. Even God Has a Sense of Humor dropped in early 2023 and took lyrical inspiration from his trip abroad as well as his own day-to-day experiences. Toward the end of the year, Maxo issued Debbie's Son, which he released on his own Smileforme label after leaving Def Jam. He enlisted producers Beat Butcha, the Alchemist, and longtime collaborator lastnamedavid to help out. ~ Rich Wilson