April 5th, 2006
P.O.S.
Key release: Audition (2006)
Hometown: Minneapolis
Rhymesayers isn't the only Twin Cities hip-hop collective worth hearing. There's also the up-and-coming Doomtree crew, the leading light of which is Stefon Alexander, a.k.a. P.O.S. He began raising eyebrows locally with his debut, Ipecac Neat, but the focused fire of the new Audition is a remarkable step forward. Executive-produced by Slug and Siddiq of Rhymesayers and released on that label, Audition bristles with aggressive energy, shot through with observant self-awareness and the rebelliousness of hardcore punk.
On embracing a deliberately abrasive sound:
"That's my way of weeding out who's actually into it, and who's there because they saw me on tour with Atmosphere and like Rhymesayers' stuff. There are people that buy every Rhymesayers release just because it's Rhymesayers, and that's very nice of them, but I'd much rather have somebody who's looking for something that's kind of difficult to listen to."
On bridging the punk and hip-hop worlds:
"One reason I rap is because bands can't break up if it's just you rapping. But I'm still in a hardcore band. It's not so much a progression, it's just something I'm doing also."
On why "sticking feathers in your ass does not make you a chicken," a line from "Half-Cocked Concepts":
"I think it's something that's entirely true, and it's also a reference to one of my favorite movies, Fight Club. It's one of those things that Brad Pitt's just spitting really fast, one of the lines that just pops in there when he's talking to Ed Norton. Like, have you hit bottom yet? No, you haven't hit bottom yet. You can act like you're upset, you can act like you're disappointed, you can fuck around and say shit like 'Oh man, I'm so depressed, life is so horrible,' or whatever. Sticking feathers in your ass doesn't make you a chicken—you haven't hit bottom until you've hit bottom. You can't fake it. Live, be happy, enjoy yourself." —Christopher Bahn
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