P.O.S. Does Things Differently

Courtesy - P.O.S Facebook

For artists today, music is about trying to be innovative, creative, and trying to find that sound and style that makes their music stand out. For the Minnesota native, P.O.S, he is already ahead of the game because of his innovative beats and lyrics filled with passion and intelligence. The pure originality of his sound is made clear after you listen to his music for the first time. P.O.S takes hip-hop, chops it up, and then glues the pieces back together with parts of punk, making his art different than any other template provided by the music industry.

P.O.S has gritty punk rock influences like Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. He then incorporates these influences into his genius lyricism and unique style on each of his albums along with aggressive rhymes, heavy and honest lyrics, and unconventional beats.

On his newest LP, We Don’t Even Live Here on Rhymesayers Entertainment's record label, P.O.S. takes his music in a new direction, while still staying true to his previous style and grit. It is as if he is standing on the line between staying underground and using mainstream music (dubstep and house genres) as a tool to challenge himself and the underground hip-hop scene.

On the first track on the album, “Bumper,” P.O.S jumps right in using a synthesizer mixed with instrumental beats that work together smoothly. It is as if P.O.S explains his introduction of dubstep/electronic on the album in this song’s lyrics: “I take my with it/I take forever, so sick of were and that clever/Let’s skip ahead to the next/ pushin’ my own limits…”  He wants to challenge himself and the music industry to start inspiring people again.

P.O.S also exposes the truth behind mainstream rappers as well as his disgust with their impact on the music industry. He puts it plain and simple: he is tired of the fake image these bullshit rappers put out there, acting as if they are God’s gift to music. He rips apart the pretentious so called “musicians” that bring true music down by becoming consumed with materialism and false images. It is as if they suck the life out of the honesty and passion true musicians put into their art. P.O.S. explains, “While rappers try to act like they labels advance ‘em money still/and acting rich in a shaky and fake economy…They front so hard and so fuck it/They can’t even look in my eyes…I came to play, I came to rock/I came to stay, they came so soft/can’t look away, my rock is off/Out of the box…”

It is pathetic what music and hip-hop have come to in the mainstream music industry. P.O.S plays off it in his music, especially on his latest album. This is done through taking his intense attitude and creating the theme for We Don’t Even Live Here, which is encapsulated in the track “Fuck Your Stuff.” He seems to be fed up with the pretentiousness and egos many artists act as if it what other people think of them and how they look is more important than the quality and effort put into the music. It seems to be what P.O.S is trying to break this down as well as trying open the eyes of others by being himself. This attitude is very prevalent in this album.

Another element that makes We Don’t Even Live Here different for P.O.S  was working with well known DJs like Boys Noize and Mike Mictlan, who is a part of  his label Doomtree. They work together to give the album an interesting electronic sound, while still incorporating P.O.S’s unusual beats. It is just the right amount of electronic influence because it doesn’t overpower P.O.S’s beats, instruments, and samples. There were also a few tracks that sounded like they were off one of his older albums. This gives the album a nice balance to it.

I can’t decide if We Don't Even Live Here was a progression for P.O.S and his music, or if he is just trying to make a statement by dipping his foot into the ocean of mainstream while attacking the fake rappers with their “grillz", ridiculous jewelry, and overall lack of respect for hip-hop. Whichever it may be, he calls it as it is and inspires artists to get out of the hole that has been dug by the heartless in hip-hop.  

Check out P.O.S’s latest album We Don't Even Live Here. Also please donate money for his needed kidney transplant, and lifetime expenses that go along with the procedure even if it is as little as a dollar. He’s had deteriorating kidneys (Kidney Thief off of Ipecac Neat) since he was a kid, but now his condition has become life threatening This has caused him to postpone his tour until he has fully recovered. It is hard for musicians to have great health benefits so help out an amazing artist who had the courage to ask for help.  Eyedea from Rhymesayers is already missed by so many and another talent lost would be devastating.