Grand Puba

Maxwell Dixon, known professionally as Grand Puba, is an American rapper and record producer, best known as a member of Brand Nubian from New Rochelle, New York. He was formerly a member of Masters of Ceremony.

Maxwell Dixon's smooth, jazz-inflected delivery defined Brand Nubian's sound from their New Rochelle roots, but Grand Puba's solo career revealed a more introspective artist than his group affiliation suggested. *Reel to Reel* arrived in 1992 as a natural extension of Brand Nubian's Afrocentric messaging, yet Puba carved his own lane with production choices that leaned harder into soul samples and boom-bap fundamentals. His influence rippled through the '90s underground, particularly among East Coast producers who studied his melodic approach to rap—a quality that sometimes overshadowed his lyricism in mainstream discussions.