The birth name of Maxo Kream's father is Emekwanem Biosah, a name that Maxo Kream himself also shares. Yet that name was hard to pronounce and spell, so his father came up with the alias Brandon Banks, a simpler name for himself. Brandon Banks is not only an alias for his father but the title of Kream's major label debut.
Brandon Banks is pieced together with interludes from his father, like on Kream's last album Punken. But the interludes come up more frequently this time around and his father is the central topic to more of Kream's raps than on previous projects. He's even on the cover and a part of promo photos and press for the album.
But his father isn't the only running theme on the album, songs such as Spice Ln., Murda Blocc, and Brothers are odes to the rest of his family and the neighborhood where he grew up in Houston, Texas. "Remember posted on the Spice I had a Carbon and four fifths/When Reload, J-Bo, and Door Hinges took the plug down for a lick" Maxo spits on Spice Ln., one of the many examples of vivid storytelling throughout the album.
Due to Brandon Banks being Kream's first major label project, he has the most loaded selection of producers than on previous projects. Notable producers D.A. Doman, Chasethemoney, Chuck Inglish, Supah Mario, Zaytoven and Mike Dean provide beats on tracks such as Meet Again, Still, 8 Figures, 3AM, and Spice Ln. and make either their first appearance or a return to a Maxo project. Even more lowkey producers Apex Martin, Felipe Spain, Kal Banx, Ryan ESL, Smash David, Teej, and TJ OSINULU all prove themselves on tracks such as Drizzy Draco, Bissonnet, Brenda, and Change, which features a sample of Gunna's hit song Sold Out Dates.
But while the production list is stuffed, there are only five guest features on the entire album. Travis Scott, who has been on a recent stretch of mediocre guest features, provides lifeless adlibs and raps an uninspired verse on The Relays, one of the weakest songs on the album in general. But the rest of the features from Megan Thee Stallion (She Live), ScHoolboy Q (3AM), A$AP Ferg (Murda Blocc), and KCG Josh (Brothers), all provide great verses on their respective songs.
The album's penultimate track, Dairy Ashford Bastard, is most important to the album's themes and is the most powerful track as a result. The track describes Kream's father and the role in his life, as well as Kream's overall upbringing, in raw detail. "He cheated on my mom a lot, called her a ho, called her a bitch/And then got set up by a thot, they robbed the Rollie off his wrist" Maxo raps as he puts his father in a different perspective compared to the rest of the album.
Despite all of the previous glorification from Maxo, his father wasn't perfect. Maxo himself wasn't perfect either, he followed a life of crime just like his father. But now those times are behind both of them and they're able to appreciate each other more than ever now. As a result, Maxo has released his most personal project and another impressive addition to his growing catalog of work.
Final score: 8/10
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