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There are only so many people in the world that deal with pressure as Maxo Kream does. Through projects like 2018’s Punken, 2019’s Brandon Banks, and now Weight Of The World, the rapper reveals the causes o these pressures as well as what often pushes him through them. In an interview with Complex’s Andre Gee, he explained how the three albums relate to each other and further his goal of helping fans understand what goes on in his world. “I feel like Brandon Banks coming after Punken allowed my fans to understand Punken more,” he said. “So now, with this one, you’ll understand what’s going on from Brandon Banks, like where I left off.”
Throughout Weight Of The World, Maxo delivers clarity for his previous work, as well as clarity towards his current position and his hopeful future. The album presents a man who must balance the multiple worlds he’s immersed in as a family man, supportive friend, experienced gang member, and rapper, as well as the responsibility that arrives when these worlds collide — intentionally or not. He details the collision of the streets and family through the tragic death of his brother Mmadu, which he details on “Trips,” and his success as a rapper providing a better lifestyle for his family and friends, allowing them to live a life away from danger. His hopeful future is captured on “Mama’s Purse” when he raps, “I was tryna buy her love, but I really made it worse / Put a price tag on her love but can’t afford how much it’s worth.” Behind the tough persona lives a man who yearns to provide greener pastures filled with “greener knots” to his inner circle, even if the cost is more than he ever imagined.
While Brandon Banks covered Maxo’s childhood, growth, and his clashes with both loved ones (his father specifically) and the streets, on Weight Of The World, he’s a well-established man with a family of his own in the making. However, now his conflicts are with those who doubt his legitimacy and commitment to the lifestyle he often raps about. On “They Say,” just three songs into the album, he rhymes, “And they say Maxo a b*tch, they say Maxo a h*e / He got rich and he dipped, don’t come around no more / They say he switched on his clique, yeah, he turned on his bros / And he ain’t pimpin’ a b*tch, he out here trickin’ on h*es.” In response, Maxo sets the record straight with a menacing display of his receipts. “Like we ain’t slang that rock for paper, totin’ scissors,” he quips. “Told you worked n****s ass off so how I owe you n****? / ‘Cross the globe, took you to my shows, done bought poles for n****s.” In Maxo’s eyes, there’s more than enough proof that he’s carried the weight of the world for people, making his doubters’ attempts to rewrite history a sure failure.
To a certain extent, Maxo insists on facing the world’s pressures rather than finding a way to diminish them. It could be because this path, as dangerous and as ruthless as it’s been, has given him everything he wanted in life and more. It’s what allows him to rap this on “Big Persona” with Tyler The Creator: “Eight figure n****, no more section 8 / Moved momma out the hood / We ain’t doin good, b*tch, we doin great.” Even when people in his inner circle beg for him to detach himself from the risks, as his mom and preacher do on “Streets Alone,” Maxo’s only response is to double down.
Maxo Kream is more than deserving of a moment to breathe freely in a world without danger. Unfortunately, it appears that Maxo was born into a world where peril lurks around the corner. For Maxo, acquiescing to these dangers is a lot like running away from your own shadow, and that’s something he will never do. “Never ran from a n****, don’t ask if my legs work,” he says on “11:59.” For more than a half-decade, Maxo Kream has explained the many responsibilities, pains, and traumas that rest on his shoulders; on Weight Of The World, the rapper insists on carrying this weight. The ups and downs of the past years gave him the strength to do so, and hasn’t buckled under this weight before, he certainly won’t now.
Weight Of The World is out now via RCA. Get it here.
