Keith Palmer, AKA Maxim, has had an illustrious career to date, not just as a member of The Prodigy, but as a solo artists as well, having MCed for years. With such a long and successful career, Maxim has a ton of experience at being an MC through multiple genres of music, having started at the age of 14.
“I started MCing when I was 14 years old. My brother was an MC and that’s kind of what started it. I’ve gone from ska to hip hop to reggae to rock, and then I got involved with The Prodigy and we kind of mashed it all together. And here we are now.”
Mastering so many genres of music and taking something from each one, Maxim’s music has something to offer everyone. Before, we were forced to like one genre, we can now go to music festivals like Coachella, where we can enjoy multiple genres across several stages.
“Music is music. Going through all those scenes when I was younger, the music scene and festivals were very segregated. You were either into this or into that, but today you can be into everything and that’s kind of how I see music, as this mish mash of genres.”
Originally, Maxim was only going to do a few gigs with the band but he later decided to stay, and it’s been one hell of a ride. Maxim and the rest of the members of The Prodigy have since built a sense of brotherhood.
“It’s been good. It’s just like any relationship. It has its ups and downs. We always say we’re brothers and we've been through good times and bad times together. We've been at each other’s throats, but we’re in a stage in our lives now where we realized where we are. We've been together for 23 years so we’re like brothers. It doesn't matter what happens.”
Being together for 23 years, The Prodigy has had much success, being nominated for the Grammy’s twice and winning several MTV Moonmen awards, not counting the many Gold and Silver Discs that they have received. But for Maxim, it’s not about the awards, but about the music he creates and doing what he loves.
“It doesn't really bother me. I don’t take note of any awards. Out of all the gold and silver discs I've got, I only have 2, one of them being the very first one we ever received, and the rest of them are at my mom’s or my sister’s house. Obviously I've got quite a few of the moonmen. The awards are respect from people, but for me it’s all about the next tune I’m writing.”
Staying true to what he loves, Maxim doesn't let anything distract him. With so much success, Maxim stays true to his art and passion. Everything that comes with fame, it doesn't deter him from creating music and performing.
“I just do what I love. I’m not really into the red carpet events. Just enjoy writing music, playing shows, that’s what it’s about. All of the other stuff that comes with it, yeah it comes with it, but I don’t let it distract me from anything.”
With all the support from his peers and fans, Maxim has a lot more in store for us. The man stays busy and he won’t just be working with The Prodigy, but plans a lot more solo work as well.
“Download the new EP. We've got “Lucky Bitch” and “Phase Me”, that’s my focus right now, as well as DJing and making more music. I’ll be playing more shows in America, more festivals. This is where we want to be. And the Prodigy album is coming out in the first quarter of next year.”`
