Winnipeg State of Mind: Max Winds

WINNIPEG STATE OF MIND:

Max Winds

NIGEL WEBBER

“I promise if you my brother then I just want you to shine” - Mozzy

A true general is a born leader and Max Winds leads his Lost Souls Entertainment army by example. Within the last year and a half, the 23 yearold Winnipeg rapper has gone from one of dozens of young artists in the city putting in work at the studio and scratching out a following to pulling serious numbers and attracting significant attention. From the outside, it might appear this success is born from a void but trust that Max Winds has put in years of work to get to where he’s at.

Max Winds got into rap at an early age. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Max moved to Winnipeg as a kid, landing in the Garden City area on the north side of town. Describing rappers like DMX and Notorious BIG as some early influences, Max was still a young teenager when he bought his first mic setup and started connecting with the hip-hop community.

Drawing inspiration from his birthplace for his rap name (Winds stands for When Impossible Never Doubt Success), Max Winds is now thoroughly invested in his home of Winnipeg, saying, “I’ma keep building my foundation here.” It only makes sense for Max to stay close to the veritable army of rappers, producers, and other collaborators he has built up around him in Winnipeg, including the 17 other members of Lost Souls. While he has connected with a vast array of artists over the years, Max describes the producers he works with as the key to his sound and his success, with Ryan Mendoza and QP Beatz being two names top of mind. Max describes the importance of connecting with the other artists in Lost Souls over making music, pointing out that studio sessions feeling something like a party has allowed some of the younger artists to feel comfortable or welcomed in an intimidating environment. Overall, that fits the Lost Souls brand of blunts and champagne bottles that Max Winds has dutifully cultivated on social media and in videos.

While Max Winds enjoys getting his mind right with a blunt, do not disrespect the man’s work ethic or knowledge of the rap game. Importantly, Max is not only deeply tapped with the under 25 crowd in Winnipeg and beyond, he is able to speak to them in their language, not only meeting them where they are but also giving validity to their lived experiences as a member of their generation. Maybe the most obvious aspect of how Max Winds is bucking past traditions is how his music can be heard. Typically, an artist would put out a single or two, then an EP/mixtape, then an LP. Max is different, saying pointedly, “nobody really listens to your mixtape if they don’t know who you are.” Instead of following the traditional route, Winds is carving a different path, one that sees him dropping a new music video every 4 to 6 weeks. The quality of the offerings always remains high, with Max explaining he’s filmed a handful of videos that were never released due to not reaching his stringent standards. Winds, channelling the rap Marshall McLuhan, describes the importance of visuals, saying, “it gives the audience a different perspective of,” his music, while also connecting with the audience on a platform they’re already frequenting. The final, more practical reason for the volume of videos Max Winds has released is to serve as a balance to the lyrical subject matter he’s presented. Winds explains that: “Most of my songs are talking about some serious ass shit, so sometimes I just want to give the people some funny shit they can laugh at and be, like, oh you’ve got a sense of humour too.” The result is tens of thousands of views on every video on the Max Winds YouTube channel and no signs of slowing down yet.

Despite many quality Max Winds videos out there, one in particular catches the eye, in part because of the featured rapper. In 2020, Max Winds put out “Man Down” featuring YK The Mayor, f.k.a. Young Kidd, one of the city’s premiere veteran street rappers. Max says that he and YK actually first connected when Max was 15 and still figuring out how to rap. He describes writing the song for “Man Down” and visualizing the concept for the video, he couldn’t picture anybody but YK being the feature. But best believe that Max Winds is not done collaborating with other local OGs and young lions alike, saying, “my focus is, I’m going to make it happen with everybody.” And while connecting and collaborating with other artists is a top priority for Max Winds, the reason he’s really out here doing it is for himself, to put his story down in the way he knows how, saying, “I’m not trying to be anybody else.” That authenticity and honesty to himself is the biggest key for Max Winds, proof that he’s not trying to impress anyone through his music, saying, “I’m just trying to tell my story, I’m just putting my pain into my music and trying to paint a picture for everybody.”

While Max Winds is busy out here painting pictures with his raps, what he really wants to do is rock a crowd, connect with the fans that really fuck with him. Having only done a few shows as an opener, the pandemic has at once provided Max Winds the opportunity to cook up racks of hot tracks; it has also robbed him of the opportunity to do shows and link up with the people that support him, concluding that, “I can release all this music but I can’t promote it the way that I want to.” As the pandemic wears on with a hopeful end in sight, Winnipeg may soon be rocking to a Max Winds show.

PHOTO: FORTY DIAMONDS