Soundcloud.
Maxo Kream’s newest album, “Punken,” is filled with autobiographical storytelling.
BY
DEVELOPING REPORTER
The arrival of winter is never as daunting as the task that comes with it: maintaining good spirits in the face of bitter cold. As freezing temperatures continue to grip Newark, my patience is tested in as we press on through March. However, during this time, I am reminded of Houston rapper Maxo Kream’s unforgiving and relentless 2018 effort, “Punken,” in which he delivers cold, unyielding gangster mantras over a 14-track project.
The album opener, “Work,” serves as a short summary of how Kream came to be after his childhood in the Houston projects, involvement with the Crips, loss of his father to jail time and the murder of his brother. The beat switch in the middle of the track is done very well and gives Kream a chance to exhibit his variations in flows. He ends the biographical track with his arrival at the microphone, gearing listeners up for what he plans to serve next.
Kream’s storytelling really shines on the following track “Grannies.” His flow is impeccable — delivered somehow softly, but with confidence at a rapid-fire pace. The chorus on this track is particularly haunting as it gives the grim picture of his childhood home: “Wake up in the morning, load my pistol, can’t leave home without it / Come from where you see a lot of bodies but don’t talk about it.”
This autobiographical storytelling is only matched again on track 11, “Janky.” The murder of his brother comes to center stage, and the rapper describes the struggle of growing up without him and coming to terms with his new duty of being a male role model to his younger siblings.
“Capeesh,” featuring Trippie Redd is a Xanax-fueled trap banger, as are “BUSSDOWN” and “Hobbies.” Each song keeps my head nodding with some insanely high replay value for the genre. “Go,” on the other hand, brings in Houston local D. Flowers and, if I could have any voice, it would probably be his. The deep voice, complete with a slight rasp, adds a toughness that couples well with Kream’s rhythm. “Love Drugs” explores Kream’s addiction to many controlled substances and how it has impacted his love life — he would rather get high than be with his love interest.
The varied song structures and changes in content mostly kept me on my toes and enjoying each taste of what Kream is offering on individual tracks. “Punken” is a complete project with few misses, and its strengths could be considered genre standards, but the track placement and the oddly inconsistent use of skits hold me back from rating any higher.
The content of the album is fairly diverse. It is quite possible this was done in a bid to bring in more streaming listeners who listen to just individual tracks, but it leads to a weaker, less cohesive final product. The disappointment from the lackluster album structure hits hard.
The track placement issue first crops up on track four, “BUSSDOWN.” The cut was one of the lead singles for the album, but it did not stand out to me as much as track five, “Hobbies.” The problem is that “BUSSDOWN” is placed between “Capeesh” and “Hobbies,” and because “BUSSDOWN” is similar in both content and style to those tracks, it gives the album a bit of a sloppy consistency.
The album closer, “5200,” is another solid cut, but its placement after the phenomenal “Roaches” only detracts from the overall feeling of the album as Kream fails to capitalize on the power of “Roaches” as a conclusion. It is important to note that none of the lesser tracks are objectively bad — rather, each track shows a different side of Kream that I enjoy far less in comparison to his storytelling side.
“Punken” manages to be excellent even for its inconsistencies, genre content pitfalls and poor track placement. Kream is simply too skilled a rapper to ignore, and his storytelling is both vivid and unique, something that is sorely needed in a genre so saturated with cursory, cliched efforts.
