55 - P.O.S.

No matter the coast, we all toast
the same PBR

At number 55 is Minneapolis rapper, P.O.S. There's a very good chance you have not heard of him until right now or when I came back from spring break saying that I had seen him in Philly. I had earlier seen Muse in Philly that same break. Not too shabby.

Wiki - Stefon Alexander, better known by his stage name; P.O.S is an American rapper signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment and a founding member of Doomtree. P.O.S began as a punk rock musician. In high school, Alexander and his friends played punk shows in a band called "Om," in which he first came to be referred to as "Pissed Off Stef." The abbreviation has taken on various and indefinite meanings including, "Product of Society," "Promise of Stress," "Promise of Skill," "Plain Ole Stefon," and "Piece of Shit."

At first hostile to hip-hop, Alexander soon decided that rap was an alternative, valid method of expression. He began creating music that was increasingly influenced by the genre, despite having very little respect for mainstream rap.

Discography -

Ipecac Neat (2004) · Audition (2006) · Never Better (2009)

Best Songs -

Music For Shoplifting
Kidney Thief
Duct Tape
Half Cooked Concepts
Yeah Right
De La Souls
P.O.S. is Ruining My Life
Living Slightly Larger
Bleeding Hearts Club
Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)
Purexed
Goodbye
Low Light Low Life
Optimist (We Are Not for Them)

P.O.S is a founding member of the Doomtree Collective, a nine member group of MCs, Producers, and DJs. His First EPs (Dubbed "False Hopes") and debut album, Ipecac Neat were originally released exclusively through Doomtree. The album caught the attention of Rhymesayers Entertainment, who in 2004 signed him and re-released the album. Since that point, his solo albums have been jointly released By Doomtree and Rhymesayers.

P.O.S retains his punk rock influence in songs like "Kidney Thief", which contains a sample from "Out of Reach" by the now defunct band Baxter, and "De La Souls", which contains a sample from "Argyle" by the punk band The Bouncing Souls, but his music cannot easily be labeled. He has described his music as "rap to skateboard to". Using raw drum loops, punk rock bass guitar riffs and sharp wordplay, Alexander has crafted a style that is largely his own. In such songs as Kicking Knowledge in the Face, he rails against those "mainstream" rappers who obsess over material wealth. This is one of the reasons I have mad respect for him.

Two vids for P.O.S. One displaying his rap skills, the other giving testament to his uniqueness. Even Pearl Jam fans appreciate that cover, most of whom aren't big on hip-hop.




next up: a "THE" band! oh man I wonder how many of them there will be on this countdown.