Born in New Orleans, rapper
Max Minelli was raised in Southern California. A coworker of his mother owned a recording studio, so at the age of ten
Minelli took his love of rap -- fueled mostly by
Ice Cube's vicious
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted album -- and recorded his first song. He enjoyed the experience but soon moved back to Louisiana, losing his connection to the music industry. It was a disappointment and setback, but
Minelli kept rapping. It paid off when he reached the age of 13 and met
C-Loc, a successful Baton Rouge rapper who ran his own label.
Minelli would join
C-Loc's Concentration Camp crew and appear on numerous C-Loc Presents Camp releases, but when
C-Loc landed in prison in 2000
Minelli was left to fend for himself. He began releasing solo albums with the help of his Concentration Camp brothers J-Von and up-and-coming producer Happy Perez, who would soon find fame working with rapper
Baby Bash.
Minelli began to break with his 2005 release Get Served, a Southern favorite that drew the attention of the Koch label. He signed with the label in 2006 and began releasing a series of mixtapes to promote his next official release. With Perez as executive producer,
Minelli released Remedy on Koch in 2008. ~ David Jeffries