Maxo Kream is ready for fans to take a walk through his life. The Houston native has garnered a solid fan base by showcasing impressive storytelling abilities. His street-driven narratives are on full display on projects like his 2015 effort #Maxo187. Maxo's evolution from a thug who can rap to a bona fide street poet is also evident on last year's The Persona Tape project. He plans to keep the momentum going in 2017.

"#Maxo187 was a classic," he tells XXL while in New York. "It was all cool but I felt like, yeah, I’m a nigga that can rap, I’m just rapping, but now this is my life, I’m a rapper. I’m about to go full throttle into it. It’s more emotion, it’s more feeling, telling the story of Maxo that niggas don’t always get to see. Not just the guns and this and that but really paint the picture. I want to take all my fans on a walk with Maxo."

The Kream Clicc Gang head honcho, born Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah, also has plans to drop his debut album plus two EPs this year -- one solo EP and another one with Mozzy, plus a possible joint project with Fredo Santana. Idle time will not be a problem for Maxo Kream anymore. Following his arrest last October while on Danny Brown’s The Exhibition Tour, Maxo's goal is to keep busy to stay out of trouble. He looks to be one of the busiest rappers of the year with what he has planned.

The H-town MC's tightrope walk between life on the streets and making music is why fans gravitate towards him. Maxo Kream's penchant for reality rap caught the attention of the late A$AP Yams a few years back before Maxo was even a recognizable name.

"Yams was the first nigga that cosigned me, ever; before any rapper, anybody, it was Yams," he shares. "He reached out and said, 'Yo, bro I see what y’all doing, you and Kream Clicc, keep doing your thing." When Maxo attended 2017 Yams Day last week, he was joined by artists from every corner of the country who wanted to pay their respects to Wavy Bone.

"His vision is just light-years ahead of his time," Maxo adds. "If he reached out to you, you’re going to be alright, which I seen at Yams Day. Everyone that was there, Yams reached out to before they even had a buzz. Every single person that was on the line up, they got something going on for themselves. Whether they are underground or mainstream now, Yams seen that first. We’re here to make sure his legacy carry on. Not just me, but everyone that was there. It was a beautiful moment to see a Maxo Kream on stage with a ReTch, a Playboi Carti with a Weeknd, French Montana, Kendrick, French Monatana, ScHoolboy. Where else would you see a show like that?"

The answer is simple: there isn't one. The single connection between every artist attending the show was Yams and his ability to see something special in each one before the masses did. Maxo Kream is gradually living up to Yams' expectations and building a solid foundation for the long haul. Houston has another son to be proud about.