Emaximus
Hip hop and rap recording artist Emaximus is a rising star, who’s been living the hip hop lifestyle since age 4. I love his single Cruise Control, because I love its fast-paced back beat. For those who are not familiar with Emaximus, he describes his music as: “Aspect reality ~ Real music and real life in a creative fashion. My music describes real events and real thought processes in a creative form.”
Emaximus started beatboxing and break dancing with his cousin Teflon Tysyn Jones after listening to music from New York and underground artists from Oakland. “After listening to my cousins play that music and watching them freestyle, that made us want to do it. When they became successful, we took it upon ourselves to learn how to write and how to freestyle. That’s how me and Teflon got into music. Now, he’s no longer with us, but we were the driving force amongst our friends who wanted to do hip hop.”
In addition to his brother, Emaximus credits a long list of artists for influencing him to become a rap and hip hop artist: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, N.W.A., Tupac Shakur, Eminem, Del The Funky Homosapien, EPMD, A Tribe Called Quest, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane, Eazy-E, E-40, Too $hort, Above The Law, Parliament, The Isley Brothers, Brand Nubian and Ice-T. “I learned from watching them and listening to them. Those are the people who pretty much influenced me.”
The name Emaximus originated from a series of childhood nicknames. “It first started off being Emaculate. That’s what my folks and people called me in my neighborhood. Then, my brother kept calling me Maximus. As I got older and started to do music, since there were other people with that name, I wanted to change it to be something original. Gladiator was one of my favorite movies, so I put the ‘E’ in front of Maximus. That’s how it worked out.”
How does Emaximus use the internet to get the word out? He has multiple websites and social media accounts. “It started out with me trying to find a good website to network with. I was trying to build a fan base. I spread the music out on those websites and sent out emails. I posted new music and more people started to follow along. When I’m out in public and I don’t have the music on me, I give people those links. Now, I’m spread out across the world, so it really helps.”
Emaximus advises other artists: “You have to stay focused. You have to do a lot of work on your own, before you can get other people to help you. You have to keep that solo mindset, rather than depending on somebody else. If you happen to get people to help you along the way, that’s a good thing, but make sure you check who you’re working with. Some people may waste your time. You also have to network.”
What’s up next for Emaximus? “I’m going back into the studio to work on a couple albums. I want to make more songs and spread them out to the people. I’m trying to release my new album called A Beautiful Mind, I’m promoting my mix tapes and I’m also trying to setup some shows.” The Emaximus mix tape is titled We On That Sh$t Again-Making Something From Nothing and his current EP on iTunes is Ripper.
Join Emaximus and help him get his words out to the people. You can find his music on N1M (NumberOneMusic.com), SoundCloud, VOD Recordings and ReverbNation.
The Amused Now Featured Artist Series
Emaximus
@Emaximus9
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Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now
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