Born in New Orleans, rapper Max Minelli was raised in Southern California. A coworker of his mother owned a recording studio, so at the age of ten Minelli took his love of rap – fueled mostly by Ice Cube’s vicious AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted album – and recorded his first song. He enjoyed the experience but soon moved back to Louisiana, losing his connection to the music industry. Minelli met C-Loc, a Baton Rouge rapper who ran his own label. Minelli would join C-Loc’s Concentration Camp crew and appear on numerous C-Loc Presents Camp releases, but when C-Loc landed in prison in 2000 Minelli was left to fend for himself.