Hailed by many as one of the most skilled and innovative lyricist since hip hop’s conception, Qwel is not your average ambiguous applause monger. Seasoned within Chicago’s unrelenting battle circuit, Qwel found his niche among his soon to be crew at University of Chicago’s WHPK Wednesday night rap show. The show, a staple in Chicago underground history, was then hosted by DJ Natural and Kid Knish. There he would meet both Denizen Kane and Qwazaar and soon after they would form Typical Cats. The project that they shortly after released, would instantly gain both national and international acclaim. When Qwel and Maker first discussed the possibility of collaborating on the first of the four horsemen/seasons albums neither one of them could have fully known exactly what they were unleashing on the underground hip hop world. With Makers rare and completely unprecedented production style, Qwel saw an opportunity to return to true school ripping it with the proper canvas to topple topics that the cornier, true school emcees wouldn’t dare. With a much more up beat and banging approach to the songs Qwel and Maker dropped one of the greatest underground hip hop albums of all time, “The Harvest”.

Led by the cue of Dj TouchNice, powered by the production of Aeon Grey and anchored by the vocal illustration of Asphate Woodhavet, the Des Moines based trio provides listeners with a dense, immovable, and often somber or “blue” bite of this reality as well as the next. Hailing from an often overlooked and undernourished locale, Maxilla’s creative approach has found it unnecessary to bend to the common trends and popular evolution of rap culture. As a result, the crew’s intepretation of music remains intact amidst failed fads, and followers of the work understand the natural encouragement to bend the enigmatic sound illustration to their own interpretations, adding to the timeless quality of each piece. Each member, an avid vinyl collector of over 10 years and dedicated practitioner of his respective craft, carries the innate desire to create, regardless of the recognition attached. This love affair with the art has resulted in multiple vinyl releases, side projects for the group, and independent works from Aeon Grey, including 12 in, 7in, compact cassettes, instrumental albums and digital efforts. MBC is most revered for charged live performances and original flavor embedded in homage to the classic 1 producer, 1 emcee, 1 Dj equation. The sum was conceived in 2006 and released it’s first full length and self-titled album, in April of 2008 on the home grown Central Standard Records (www.central-standard.com). M.B.C has steadily crushed shows throughout the midwest and mountain regions, including coordinating performances with, and opening for such acts as Typical Cats, Qwel & Maker, Qwazaar, Ghostface Killah, Brother Ali, Mr Lif, Toki Wright, Naughty By Nature, Eyedea and Abilities, Scarub of Living Legends, Sick Jacken, Das Efx, Fashawn, etc, and in every appearance rocks real heads off necks. Maxilla Blue Vol 3 is off to press, with a retail release date set for 2.28.12, and the Des Moines vinyl & CD release show set for Friday, March 2nd @ The Vaudeville Mews. The Maxilla crew, along with a few other like-minded individuals recently and feverishly tossed a few dope vibe and quick hit sessions into another BumRap edition, Median Risers, (5.24.11). If you’re instate, check ZZZ, and other record stores in Des Moines for Maxilla Blue and BumRap material. If you’re local and we’ve sold out somewhere, or you have a record store referral for us, let us know..MBC is independent, and spaces out often and could use the tip-off. Check Co-Op and Ragged Records in Quad Cities area, both in Iowa and Illinois, the Exclusive Company in Osh Kosh, WI, www.hhv.de for all UK and Europe heads and more stores soon. www.galapagos4.com, Amazon and Itunes, Zune, www.fifthelementonline.com all availablle now… other channels coming soon..

Offwhyte consistently proves his mastery of language and rhythm. He makes a type of hip hop that is devoted to details, rather than trying to overwhelm with power and aggression.