Harlem icon Max B has been in prison for years now, but he appears to be in the midst of a comeback. With “Don’t Push Me,” he’s released his second new song in about a week’s time after going eight years without new music.
“Don’t Push Me” remakes Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s classic “The Message” and revisits Puff Daddy & The Family’s “Been Around The World,” with Max B spitting the first verse and resurrecting his signature croon for the hook. Longtime friend and collaborator French Montana joins in for the second verse with his own melodic raps. Rolling Stone reports that Max B said he wanted to “recapture some of that old flavor — that Grandmaster Flash feel, that Ice Cube ‘Check Yo Self’ feel. … There’s no more riding music out there right now, that’s some ancient folklore. So we gotta put that back in perspective. I was coming with some funk.”
The song comes about a week after “Hold On,” another French Montana-assisted song that was released on Max B’s birthday (May 21). Max and French are currently prepping their Coke Wave 3 mixtape.
Hear “Don’t Push Me” above.