5 Takeaways From Max B & French Montana’s ‘Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos’

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Max B is back. Just as importantly, after he ended a 16-year stretch behind bars, he’s back with the perennially underrated French Montana to restart the Coke Wave they launched 17 years ago. They did so when they released Coke Wave 3.5: Narcos last week. Laced with blunt street raps and some fun weirdness, the project is… well, a whole wave. I liked it. What’d you think?

Before telling us, check out our five takeaways from the project below. 

1. Max B and French Montana... Still Wavy

While their duo comeback single was mundane, Coke Wave 3.5 has enough quirky choices to reinforce the pair’s idiosyncratic legacy. “N***a Like Me” makes the most of Max’s newly growly melodies for a track that supplies smoky, nocturnal cool. “Ever Since U Left Me” turns “That’s The Way I Like It” into a petty ex anthem for the ages. There’s some weird stuff going on here. It’s eclectic. It’s fun. It’s funky. It’s stylish. I guess what I’m trying to say is — it’s wavy. 

2. French Montana is the Best Friend You Never Had

I’ve always loved French. I love how he doesn’t take himself too seriously. I love the way he pronounces his consonants with either an extra percussive force or a hiss at the end of his s’s. I love the way he’s happy he escaped the hood and looks to cuff rich baddies. He doesn’t get credit for making hits with everyone from Waka Flocka Flame to Curren$y and Swae Lee. But more than all that, I love the way he’s supported Maximus Biggavel. 17 years is a very long time, but French has kept Max’s name alive every step of the way as he’s built himself — and Max — an infrastructure to be bigger and maybe more relevant than ever. Public Domain 7: The Purge was a little overstuffed for Max as he’s re-acclimating himself to the world and getting back into his wave. So French coming through to support in this way on the project is extra clutch. It’s also a microcosm of the types of connections that last. 

3. Max B Doesn't Sound the Same — But it Mostly Works Anyway

Strictly speaking, Max B could never actually sing. But his off-kilter melodies had enough distorted range to make it all… well, wavy anyway. His voice is noticeably jagged now and at times the vocals sink into the beat in a way that’s more abrasive than smooth. A lot of it still goes though, with the frameworks of the hooks still being interesting enough for what’s currently a bit less than his standard crooning. He also makes up for it with some strong, decisive 16s. I have a feeling he’ll work his way into refining a new vocal approach in the future, and honestly, props for not using AI. 

4. Max and French are More Aware of Their Legacy Than Ever

On “Whippin That Wave,” French raps that he and Max are “pioneers of that drill music.” I think they’re too removed from that specific era and sonic aesthetic to make that claim a valid one. On the same song, Max raps that he came into the game a degenerate and left it as an icon. Between that and the kind of heavy-handed singing at the beginning of “MAWA (Make America Wavy Again,” and the crown of thorns Max rocks in the video,” you get the sense that these two are more image-conscious than ever. At times it feels a little on the nose; after all, these are people with Britney Spears remixes like “Gimme Slores” in their catalog. But it never truly compromises the tape. It’s just not something I remember being as prominent on their other releases. 

5. Max B Could be the Most Successful Post Prison Rap Story Since Gucci Mane

Max B went away when I was a senior in high school, and because of industry changes and new connections, he has a chance to be much bigger than he was then. Everyone from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to Fetty Wap is giving him props, and collabing with Max will soon be the trendy thing to do. But this project shows that his music can work even better in a modern context than years ago, and with all the support — as well as the willingness to make great music — he can do what few rappers have recently done post-prison sentence: be great.