Words As Weapons

Words As Weapons

Matthew Winters

P.O.S. is an anomaly. When looking at music we see lines and genres, but with the inception of the Internet and mass media producing devices, the lines of genres are in reality blurred. P.O.S. is a product of that blurring, the love that comes from having more than one love in music and the desire to combine them into one.
Stefon Alexander, better known to his fans as P.O.S., started playing music in punk bands in his home state, Minnesota, but didn't find hip-hop until later in his life. In fact, he stayed away for a very long time abstaining from a lot of what hip-hop culture stands for. When he did discover that hip-hop was a very viable kind of expression, it was a small period of time before he was signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment for his second album, "Audition."

"Audition" was a conglomerate effort that combined the best of his style: quick raps, big hooks on the beats, a love of the punk community, and a weirdly familiar kind of self-deprecating humor. The follow-up effort, "Never Better," takes everything on "Audition" and turns the mix up to 11.

"Let It Rattle" leads off literally asking, "Do you think a president could represent you?" and "What exactly do you do?" almost as a rib at the audience to get them into his frame of mind. What is that frame of mind? Angry, really angry, at a lot of things in society and the world. The first single, "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)," answers back with fast-rapped verses and a pounding, punk drum roll into a gang vocal shout "We're So Thirsty." He really shows his love for the punk scene on "Savion Glover" which includes a shout-out to post hardcore pioneer Fugazi, and "Terrorish" an ode to the destructive nature of past political administrations with searing vocals from Kid Dynamite/None More Black vocalist Jason Shevchuk.

"Never Better" is, when it is all taken as a whole, the product of being on the road and seeing this country for what it is and trying to bring something that matters to the people and in the process hopefully making them question the environment that they live in.

Originally Published in The WSU Signpost 2/06/09