— Following his return last month to announce a new album, Maxo releases “Donahoo’s Chicken,” the second offering from Mars Is Electric.
“Donahoo’s Chicken” finds Maxo rapping with a rarely heard fervor from the often laid-back artist and was produced by Los Angeles-based musician Baird. “Donahoo’s Chicken” arrives with another unnerving music video directed by Vincent Haycock, further unveiling the surreal Mars Is Electric visual landscape that was first previewed with Maxo’s music video for the first single “Human?” along with the album trailer he released just last week.
Mars Is Electric is Maxo’s first official release since he dropped two critically acclaimed albums in 2023 with Even God Has A Sense of Humor and Debbie’s Son. His fifth full-length album finds the Southern Californian artist self-aware and mature. Having lived the last decade of his musical life intentionally creating specific bodies of work rooted in imagery, observation, and capturing moments, Maxo spent this previous year freely creating without a specific plan, relieved from all obligations and restrictions.
“This is the first time that I really didn’t care, I didn’t approach things so seriously,” the artist shrugs off, meaning that without expectations or specific goals, his creativity flourished. This opening finds the artist having conversations he’s been avoiding, having lived silently in the pain of those topics for the past few years. Exploring uncomfortable themes about personal life, relationships, and family fractures, life before and after the loss of innocence, and an abundance of existential spirals.
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The exploration was not only thematic but also musical. During the creation process, Maxo was immersed in a wide array of music from past to present — France Joli, $amaad, Steve Spacek, Cherelle, DJ Quik, Lisha G — influences that seeped their way into these songs. The album opens in a loose, dreamlike state —experimental and searching, mirroring the emotional fog of someone looking for something real to hold onto. But as it progresses, so does Maxo’s energy as he fiercely rides and weaves on songs with a contagious confidence, producing some of his most kinetic and lyrically impressive music to date.
As the work and vision coalesced into a body of work, Maxo found that he was unlocking a creative language with his collaborators that felt wholly new — a new understanding of why and how he was making art for this world. What emerged from this year-long process was a new musical journey and a future where Maxo refuses to be another bad example of what could be, refusing to mind the blueprint set down.
Listen to “Donahoo’s Chicken” above, see full album details below, and stay tuned for more from Maxo very soon.