Though he grew up in a home where music was very important, Max Herre was first exposed to hip-hop in school and was instantly hooked. Initially he listened solely to American rappers, but after hearing fellow Germans Advanced Chemistry he decided he, too, could rap in his native tongue. In 1996 Herre joined Don Philippe and DJ Friction and formed Freundeskreis, who released Quadratur des Kreises (1997) and Esperanto (1999). With his group on hiatus Herre began producing, first on his wife Joy Denalane's solo debut, Mamani. In 2004 he released his debut, Max Herre, a mixture of funk, hip-hop, and rock. Shortly after he and Denalane founded Nesola Records, which issued her second album, Born & Raised, in 2006.