Max B Returns With First Post-Prison Mixtape, Public Domain 7: The Purge
Max B has formally reentered the rap conversation with Public Domain 7: The Purge, his first release since being freed after serving 16 years in prison. The project revives his long-running Public Domain mixtape series and marks both a personal and creative milestone for the Harlem-bred artist, whose influence has loomed large despite years of physical absence from the industry.
The tape arrives nine years after his last mixtape and four years after his most recent full-length project, Negro Spirituals. It follows 2016’s Wave Gods, released while Max B was still incarcerated. With Public Domain 7, the rapper positions his return not as a comeback, but as a continuation of work that was never truly paused.
Public Domain 7: The Purge includes guest appearances from A$AP Rocky, Kehlani, French Montana, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Lola Brooke, and the late Chinx, among others. The collaborative lineup underscores Max B’s enduring industry relationships and the respect he continues to command across generations of artists.
Shortly after its release, the project was expanded into a deluxe edition titled Public Domain 7: The Purge (Patient Zero Deluxe). The extended version adds five tracks, bringing the total to 29 songs and a runtime of nearly 90 minutes. Among the highlights are Max B’s remix of Kehlani’s “Folded,” the previously released single “No More Tricks,” and a freestyle over SZA’s “Snooze.”
Max B’s creative output during incarceration has long been a point of fascination. While serving his sentence, he recorded music in a makeshift studio inside his prison cell, relying on outside producers and his own instincts to maintain his signature melodic style. In a recent interview with Okayplayer, the rapper described his process as largely intuitive.
“I use… what I always use my experience and my imagination,” he said. “God gave me a melodic gift, so I use that… I can still make it sound good. Still got that buttery, milky voice for the ladies.”
Often credited with popularizing the term “wavy,” Max B’s influence has been widely acknowledged by artists who rose to prominence during his incarceration. His post-prison work suggests an artist less concerned with reinvention than with reclaiming momentum.
Max B was originally sentenced in 2009 to 75 years in prison after being convicted as an accomplice in a New Jersey robbery that ended in murder, despite not being present at the scene. In 2016, his conviction was vacated after it was argued that his original defense attorney had a conflict of interest. The ruling led to a reduced sentence of 20 years.
He ultimately served 16 years and was released on Nov. 9.
