French Montana / Max B: Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos

"Then, carefully fold in Harlemite Max B and add a healthy dash of Grand Cru Remy Martin. While he'll surely heat up with bars indebted to the styles of Biggie, Jay-Z, and Tupac, that extra dash of sauce will have him singing melodies like he's giving a drunken Motown audition in another lifetime. Finally, marinate their sleazy bars and catchy hooks in beats that transform 20th-century classics-the kind heard at retirement home parties-into headknocking bangers."

"All this propelled the deliriously fun and hard-nosed duo to the crest of New York rap in the late 2000s, before the wave crashed with Max B's incarceration in 2009. Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos, the second album Max B has released since he walked free in November, reignites the infectious dynamic between Max and French but doesn't surf on legacy. It captures what made one of New York hip-hop's greatest link-ups so captivating, but also calls into question why they would break away from the distinct "wavy" strain of rap they claimed in the first place."

Coke Wave pairs French Montana's hungry Bronx hustler delivery with Max B's melodic Harlem crooning and a lavish, Remy Martin–tinged swagger. The production flips 20th-century classics into head-nodding bangers, turning retirement-home-era songs into vigorous rap backdrops. Max B sings with the soul of a '60s Marlena Shaw record while French Montana raps about moving bricks over unconventional samples like a Dark Side of the Moon flip. The duo reached New York rap prominence in the late 2000s before Max B's incarceration in 2009, and post-release material, including Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos, revives their dynamic. Coke Wave 3.5 captures their chemistry on tracks such as "Whippin That Wave" but also questions the departure from the signature "wavy" strain. Efforts to repurpose disco classics produce uneven results, with some samples causing rhythmic mismatch.

Read at Pitchfork