Harlem rapper Max B was freed from prison on Sunday after spending 16 years behind bars for his involvement in a failed armed robbery that led to a man’s death.
The artist, whose real name is Charley Wingate, gained fame for his mixtapes and for coining the term “wavy” before his 2007 arrest on manslaughter and armed robbery charges.
Earlier this year, he revealed in a phone interview from prison that he would be released on November 9.
“I’m feeling righteous, man,” Max told the Joe Budden Podcast. “I’m doing all right. This is almost over. Wavy Baby coming home real soon.”
In 2009, Max B was handed a 75-year prison sentence after being accused of aiding a robbery in New Jersey that ended in murder, despite not being present in the state at the time.
His conviction was overturned in 2016 after a new legal team argued that his original lawyer had a conflict of interest. The sentence was later reduced to 20 years.
French Montana, who collaborated with Max B on their 2009 mixtape Coke Wave, was among those to celebrate his release on Sunday.
“Can’t make this up! My brother really came home on my bday!” Montana shared on social media.
Even while incarcerated, Max B continued to release music, often recording vocals over the phone, according to Rolling Stone.
He appeared on Kanye West’s 2016 album The Life of Pablo on the track “Siiiiiiiiilver Surffffeeeeer Intermission.”
Earlier this year, he was featured on Wiz Khalifa’s Kush + Orange Juice 2 with the song “Max B Interlude.”
Following his release, Max B hinted at more music to come in a social media post: “It’s time to open the flood gates. See yall in a few.”
Just days after landing her fourth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Drop Dead,” Olivia Rodrigo is now getting major recognition from Niall Horan.
In a recent conversation with Rolling Stone published April 30, the former One Direction member shared insight into how he approaches songwriting, highlighting the comeback of bridges in pop and pointing to Rodrigo as a key influence behind it.
“It’s great to hear [bridges]. I feel like Olivia Rodrigo has been a big influence on that for pop writers,” the Irish artist said, before singing part of the “Drivers License” bridge. “What I like about Olivia’s music is [that] you feel like you’re getting one song and then you get a completely different song. It completely flips on its head musically, goes somewhere different, brings you to a bridge, brings you to some weird musical breakdown thing. Whatever [she] and Dan Nigro are up to is a good little team they’ve got going there. It’s definitely influencing people, including myself.”
Horan also spoke at length about his upcoming project Dinner Party, set to arrive June 5 through Capitol Records. He has already released two tracks from the record, including the title cut and “Little More Time,” both produced alongside Afterhrs, John Ryan and Julian Bunetta. The album rollout will be paired with an extensive 22-date tour across Europe, Ireland and the U.K. The Irish singer’s new release follows 2023’s The Show, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. During the interview, Horan also mentioned that his next era leans more into rock elements, something he connects back to his long-standing love for bands like Blink-182.
“That drum sound is something that we were trying to chase, and that comes from that late-’90s, early-2000s punk-rock era,” he said. “Rock’s been a big influence in my life since I was a child. I write pop songs, but dressing them up in a different way sometimes is quite cool. And now, the way my career is going, I’m completely thinking about live shows all the time. I learned so much from being on the road and being out there every night. There’s only so much sitting on Spotify you can do and reading comments before you actually get an idea of what people actually think. You can see it in the room. The rockier stuff really goes off at the shows.”
The “Slow Hands” hitmaker also has two U.S. stadium dates lined up for this year. Joining longtime friend and Grammy-nominated country artist Thomas Rhett, Horan is set to perform at GEODIS Park in Nashville on July 9 and Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania on July 19, with Live Nation handling promotion for both shows. Kashus Culpepper and Emily Ann Roberts will open the concerts. With such a packed touring schedule, all four remaining members of One Direction are expected to be on the road with new music this year. When asked about attending his former bandmates’ shows, Horan gave praise to Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.
“I went to Harry’s show a couple of years ago, and that was just wild. Madness going on there,” he said. “It reminded me of the 1D stadium shows where it was just seas of people jumping up and down. Watching the things going on on the floor, all the fans dancing around, I love that. You feel a sense of pride watching the boys doing what they love to do, and the communities that they’re able to create. I’m going to try and get to a Louis show of some capacity in the next few weeks.”
Horan is now the fourth One Direction member to drop a new album this year. Tomlinson released How Did I Get Here? in January, Styles hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally in March, and ZAYN followed with Konnakol earlier this month on April 17.
