Maxwell Dixon (born March 4, 1966) is an emcee best
known as a member of the group Brand Nubian.
He made his debut with the group Masters of Ceremony. Its album
Dynamite (1988) was hailed by critics, but probably due to lack of
sales, the group soon disbanded, and Puba emerged as the lead emcee
of Brand Nubian. After their innovative and versatile debut album
One for All (1990)—covering areas from reggae-influenced hip
hop music to new jack swing—Puba left the group after disputes
with its other members and embarked on a solo career. He became a
member of the group again around 1997, recording a few tracks for
various soundtracks leading up to the full-length album Foundation
in '98. In 1999, Puba and group mate Sadat X performed on the track "Once
Again" on Handsome Boy Modeling School's concept album So...
How's Your Girl? Following the group's 2004 effort Fire in the Hole,
a rejuvenated Puba appeared on tracks with Beanie Sigel ("Bread
and Butter," also featuring groupmate Sadat X), Missy Elliott
("My Struggles," featuring his onetime collaborator Mary
J. Blige), and Ugly Duckling ("Something's Going Down Tonight").
In 2009, Grand Puba released his fourth solo album, Retroactive,
featuring production from hip-hop veterans like Q-Tip, Large Professor,
Kid Capri as well as his fellow Brand Nubian's. Puba also appeared
on the heavy posse-cut "Fresh" together with Cormega, KRS-One,
Big Daddy Kane, DJ Red Alert and Parrish Smith of EPMD.
On the song "Old School" by Tupac Shakur Grand Puba was
sampled and used in the hook. The sample originates from Grand Puba's
verse on the song "Dedication" by Brand Nubian.
Discography
* 1992: Reel to Reel
* 1995: 2000
* 2001: Understand This
* 2009: Retroactive (Babygrande Records)