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Meet Max Burgundy: Your Average Downtown Dreamin' Anti-Boss Bawse
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- Details
- Parent Category: Sports & Entertainment
- Category: Music
- Created on Sunday, 22 January 2012 16:43
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 11:50
- Published on Sunday, 22 January 2012 16:43
- Written by Michael "Mike Bhaiya" Berger
- Hits: 832
Max Burgundy was born, Max Rivera, on November 29th, 1985, in The Bronx, New York City, to a German American mother and Puerto Rican father. They lived together until his father passed when he was only 6. That left him and his mother to fend for themselves in their working class Bronx neighborhood. The grind of the working class is a huge part of Max's existence and one that consistently informs his music. Like so many in his generation, he definitely has experience hustling, but the details of those stints are not the focus of his music. Although he is a hustler turned MC, he's much, much more. That's part of his message. People are people. They are far more complex than any adjectives or nouns that can be assigned them.
He identified with hip hop early, and being quite the curious and ambitious youngster, by 10 had figured out how to use his karaoke machine and boom-box to record over beats CDs. He even started overdubbing (adding layers of vocals). It's no wonder he's become a self described audiophile. His attention to aural detail is something that really helps connect his music. Anchored by a special affinity for sampling from a broad range of genres, he produces a lot of it himself and also collaborates with producers, mainly Kay Kay On the Beats, but it's all Burgundy: poetic, intro and retrospective, quirky, chill, clever, lyrical in a laid back kinda way, slightly romantic and swagged-out at various times, socially insightful, dreamy, real.
He put out his first project in high school while living in San Diego under the alias Stan Stone (Stanley Kubrick + Oliver Stone) but soon after lost focus as a series of dumb young mistakes led to legal troubles and general upheaval. Furthermore, he wasn't seeing much out there in the hip hop world that connected to his reality. "I was kind of uninspired at the time. The stuff that was coming out was just so far away from where I was in my life”, he recalls. It wouldn't be till almost a decade later that the inspiration came back. In that decade he re-found his focus, enrolled in a small community college, excelled, earned acceptance into a top Ivy League school, re-lost his focus, got tossed from the Ivy, worked numerous odd jobs as mentioned above, moved to Brooklyn, met a girl (multiple girls), started messing around with music again, took a fast food job, got promoted to manager and accepted a job in Kuwait, and then turned around in the airport ... inspiration had returned. In his words:
I realized that it was still yet, again, a ticket out, but I just needed to be a little bit smarter, and that I'd had enough life experience to feel like I had something to rap about again. It was definitely the encouragement of people being like ‘yo this guy is interesting.’ It was kinda just like a joke outfit, it wasn't anything that serious that I was involved in. It ended up being the most live and the most hype during my set or my portion of the set, and I just took that as my cue that people really wanted me as a performer. I knew that I was gonna be stimulated both on a business side ... to drive my career and direct that s**t, but also on the artistic side, because I really just wanted to be out performing for people and sharing my art.
It took a trip to Amsterdam though (no pun intended; more on that below) and a profound moment of self-reflection to fully convince him that he needed to devote himself to music that the world needed to meet Max Burgundy. Max expressed this revelation by saying:
It really tapered off pretty quickly again, and I kind of, again, struggled with that notion of ‘man this music game, all the cards are stacked against you, it's f***ed up. It's all nepotism; it's all who you know and who you blow.’ I was really tired of it. It wasn't until I really sat down and had an opportunity to think about it, smoke a little herb, really expand my mind, and just realize that ‘nah, this is exactly what I need to do, I just need to be smarter.’ It's not just about sitting there rapping over some commercial beat. It's bigger than that, and I realize that.
The rest of our conversation was spent delving into some of these bigger (and not so big) issues: IT'S BURGUNDY, BABY!
Berger:
I remember hearing that you used to really [mess] with the Burgundy wine, and that's where your alias came from. Is that accurate?
Burgundy:
Yeah that's a true story. I've worked a lot around food and wine, and Burgundy is just my s**t.
Berger:
Your song "UNITE", like much of your work, is about the everyday struggles that connect so many people in America and across the world. What's your stance on the Occupy Movement? Is it even possible to bring about significant change in our country? In the world?
Burgundy:
Change is possible. Change is an inevitability. But is it the change we need? I don't always know. OWS is a movement I support. I just know that I can't be there day-in and day-out, and I worry about how many other people are only involved in a partial way in the being physically present sense. Emotionally and mentally, I support the movement. I really hope that OWS keeps its focus, though. I've always lived in pretty liberal areas - where people love protesting - and my concern is that the specific OWS message - in a place like New York, where there are so many agendas - gets a little watered down.
Berger:
You have some songs about young women, do you plan on making any songs where you personify hip hop as a woman (joking, unless you're not)?
Burgundy:
Actually, I do. Be on the look out for that. It's called "You Took My Baby", and I plan on including it on my next project out in January [2012].
Berger:
Intriguing. Lookin’ forward to it. What's been the reaction like of the girls who you wrote these songs about? Or are some of them not actually about anyone in particular?
Burgundy:
I'm a writer; so, it's my responsibility to tell stories. That said, I am also a rapper and most of my rhymes are super referential and autobiographical. I never really tell people "oh this song is about you" I just sorta let people that are close to me figure out who I am talking about. People know.
Berger:
What's your stance on the various derogatory terms so many rappers use to refer to women?
Burgundy:
Language is powerful. I just hope everyone knows the responsibility they have when they chose to use the language they use. I grew up around of a lot of feminists. And I've read a lot of their favorite authors. That said, it's hip hop, and hip hop is a social commentary on what is going on. For most people that means what's going on in the hood. History will show that the hood had a drug problem and a lot of women used sex to acquire drugs for themselves or used sex to better themselves because they were disenfranchised in every other way. It's easy to see why people might want to call someone a b***h or a hoe. Can't say I condone that s**t, but it's part of the vernacular, now. Do I think some people misuse this concept to perpetuate their own woman-hating agenda? Sure. But I also think a lot of the hood - where I am from - suffers from the “Madonna Whore Dichotomy”. Overall it's very confusing, and I think the easiest route out is to just say f*** a b***h, but I love mi momma.
Berger:
Isn't any use of this language towards women a "misuse"? I understand that it's very common in some places, but saying that some people "misuse" the "concept" implies there is a fully formed legitimate concept in the first place.
Burgundy:
What I meant by "misuse" is that I think some rappers use derogatory terms for all women because they actually hate women. I do think in certain cases, some rappers (2pac is a good one) use the word b***h in a song but are quick to turn around and make a song like "Dear Mama" or "Brenda's Got A Baby." I think in Pac's case, he clearly has a value for women. It's an age old argument, and I know that the image of women is not enhanced when they are referred to as b****es, but when dealing with an emotional issue within one's music, sometimes that might be the only way to express oneself. I think what's more important is that rappers show a wider perspective on their dealings with the opposite gender.
Berger:
What is the "Madonna Whore Dichotomy"?
Burgundy:
The Madonna Whore Dichotomy is the idea that some women (usually one's Mom) are virginal and all the rest are prostitutes and should be treated as such.
Berger:
Right. I think a lot of men are conflicted in that way sometimes. It's the old "my moms, my sister, and my girl are the purest women on the planet, most of the others though ... ." What do you mean "the easiest route out is to just say f*** a b****?" Sounds like you are condoning it a little.
Burgundy:
I think from a "what the public expects a rap song to sound like" perspective it's much easier to say "f*** a b****." So, in some ways, I am condoning it, but in other ways, I am not. I'm not anti-using the word b****. I'm anti-hating women for the sake of hating them and considering them inferior. That's something I don't condone, and certain rap has its roots in that agenda. It's when rap music is raw and genuine that using a derogatory word becomes artistic in a way. But then again, everyone has a different idea of what "art" is. Basquiat is not for Renaissance fresco lovers.
Berger:
Who are you listening to right now? Who are your favorite MCs of the moment? Least favorite?
Burgundy:
I won't say my least favorite rappers because everyone who has the heart and courage to share their art is a special person to me. Everyday another person I went to high school with is on Facebook saying they got a "movement" and have a mixture for the streets coming out. And I wonder "where were you in high school?" Scared I guess. Jay-Z will always be a favorite of mine. 2Pac, too. Right now I'm listening to Watch The Throne and a lot of Curren$y, Action Bronson, Smoke DZA, Fat Tony, Kool A.D., older Wiz Khalifa, and Jay Electronica. Outside of hip hop, I'm f***ing with Doe Paoro! She's making this amazing ghost soul that she developed while living in India and studying Tibetan opera.
Berger:
Wow. Ghost Soul Indian-tinged Tibetan Opera. I'm so on it. One of your better known songs so far is "Save Ferris (F*** My Job)", much respect by the way for flipping The Office theme song, well done and quite fitting if I do say so myself. Anyways, have you ever had a job or a boss you did like?
Burgundy:
Yeah I worked at a library and really loved that job, tons of job security and books everywhere.
Berger:
Tell us about going to Kuwait; you almost took a job there? Why didn't you?
Burgundy:
It was a super corporate experience. I really wanted to get out of my situation. I am a rapper and fan of rap. I want the American dream - even though it's a pipe dream. So, I thought getting a job - or at least looking into getting one - would be my key to happiness. Not the case. I got over there and realized that what Kuwait needs is not American fast food culture, but to work on retaining their own identity. I didn't want to contribute to pollution and the fattening of people. So I said f*** it and went to Amsterdam and smoked a bunch of weed and started planning on how to get my Max Burgundy s**t out.
Berger:
What's the best thing about getting with rich, crazy, hipster chicks? The worst?
Burgundy:
Best thing is they are crazy, rich and hipsters. There is no worst.
Berger:
In your song "Downtown Dreamin'”, you very effectively flip the Cranberries "Dreams". From someone who'd probably get a little too hype if you [messed] it up, that should mean a lot. Anyways that song seems to be about dreams inspired by big cities and probably more so about you kind of downtown dreamin' with a girl and the different worlds you guys come from and just your time together. You've lived in a number of American cities, is there any one in particular that's affected you most? From which of your relationships have you grown the most?
Burgundy:
I really loved Boston. I despise the Red Sox, but I love their devotion to their team and to their culture. Growing up in New York, we had a culture of struggle and grind and self determination - now it's all f***ing yuppies. Boston is solidly blue collar, and I like that s**t. I grow from every relationship. I'm a sponge.
Berger:
What are you excited about for the future?
Burgundy:
The future is exciting. I don't know what it has in store for me. I am excited for my next project. I just got a studio at the crib; so, I'm ready to finally finish these records.
You can check out Max as he continues his journey at MaxBurgundy1.bandcamp.com, MaxBurgundy.tumblr.com, Twitter.com/MaxBurgundy, and Facebook.com/MaxBurgundy. His new project drops in January 2012.
Michael “Mike Bhaiya” Berger is a Brooklyn based MC and Hip Hop Educator. He has taught Hip Hop History and Writing courses in Boston public schools and worked extensively with youth in underserved communities in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Middletown (CT), Mexico, and India. In the summer of 2011, he released his debut mix-tape with DJ Green Lantern, *DJ Green Lantern Presents: Mike Bhaiya-The Universe Is Dreaming Vol. 1*. Michael believes Hip Hop is eternal. Find Michael on Twitter®, @MikeBhaiya, or on his website at MikeBhaiya.com.
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