In late January, Kanye West announced on his Twitter page that he was changing the name of his nascent seventh album from Swish to Waves. (It's possible that he's reconsidering, given his wife Kim Kardashian yesterday (Feb. 1) tweeted a poll asking fans if they preferred either of those titles, or the original So Help Me God.) In the wake of the Waves announcement, however, a handful of Twitter users--some of them famous rappers--raised issue with West's perceived encroachment on the territory of Max B, the incarcerated New York rapper. Feelings ran so strongly that Wiz Khalifa and West got in a since-resolved beef. For more evidence that Max brings about strong feelings for rap fans everywhere, one needs to look no further than a new petition calling for a Presidential pardon that would free him from behind bars.

"Exculpatory evidence was withheld from the Grand Jury in this case," organizers write as the argument for Max, real name Charly Wingate, to be pardoned. "Evidence that was crucial in the decision making-function by the Grand Jury. Evidence that could have return a NOT GULTY verdict in Max B's trial." Max has been in prison since 2009 for his role in a botched 2006 robbery that left one man dead in New Jersey.

The petition is being run through the WhiteHouse.gov program that guarantees a response from the White House should the petition reach 100,000 signatures. The deadline for that count is March 1.

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