Minnesota State University Reporter

Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: Music

Media Credit: www P.O.S. will bring his hybrid hip-hop to the What's Up on Monday.

To truly understand Minneapolis-based rapper P.O.S., you simply need to consider the artwork for his latest album, "Never Better."

The limited edition packaging for the disc contains several transparent squares with designs including a skull, a snake and the words "Kick & Snare & Kick & High-hat." The liner notes can be folded out to reveal a series of squares with various images on them ranging from a sketch of the rapper himself to a drawing of actor Danny Glover, all of which can be torn into individual squares the size of the cover art.

The sleeves containing these pieces are transparent plastic, allowing the listener to arrange all of these things together in whatever manner he or she chooses, making the visual art of the album every bit as personal and creative as the sounds contained on the CD.

P.O.S. explains it best himself: "The overall theme of the record is to do something yourself, and I wanted the art to reflect that."

This individualized approach exemplifies the spirit of the rapper's career. Born Stefon Alexander in Minneapolis, P.O.S. actually started as a punk rock musician, finding his kindred spirits in the world of hardcore. For a long time, he ignored rap music. What made him change?

"Basically, my band broke up," he says with a laugh, "and I was looking for something I could do by myself. I didn't want to rely on other people anymore."

Thus started the young man's transformation into a hip-hop artist. But what makes P.O.S. so unique, among other things, is that instead of simply moving on from the punk and hardcore sound, he has managed to incorporate them into the music he makes today. He pulls music from his influences, getting throaty screams over a chorus here or blasting a grungy guitar chord there.

The result is a sound unlike any other in the rap genre, a sound that confuses critics and journalists who sometimes refer to him as being "rap/rock" or "emo rap." But when asked how he defines his music, he is perfectly clear what it is he creates.

"Hip-hop. Straight up."

According to P.O.S., "Anyone who calls it 'rap/rock' or whatever isn't listening. You're not going to find anything that sounds like Limp Bizkit. There are no breakdowns. If you took any of my songs, if you put a cheesy hip-hop beat under any of them, it would still be a hip-hop song, just with different rapping."

Thankfully for P.O.S., and for his fans, his beats are anything but typical hip-hop beats. His synthesis of punk and rap is immediately impactful, and for first-time listeners it's surprising to hear two genres that seem so different sound so good together.

For P.O.S., it all makes perfect sense. "Essentially, punk and hip-hop come from the same place," he says. "I need to capture that [punk] energy."

On Monday P.O.S. will continue what's been a long tour to promote his new album, stopping by the What's Up Lounge in Mankato with fellow Rhymesayers act Eyedea & Abilities. He says he looks forward to the show.

"Every time we play there it's fun. [The] crowds are cool. When we do these short Midwest runs, it's always really small rooms. It's always a blast."

Being on the road for such a long stretch has been difficult for the performer.

"It's so hard," he says, "but I understand that's what you gotta do to make it work. Nobody buys CDs anymore."

And for P.O.S., the hard work pays off in the reactions of fans like those he expects to see in Mankato.

Referring to his new album, he says, "I mean, it's not a major success in the world, but it's a major success to me personally, and the way people have been treating it makes me feel like it's a job well done."

Christian Hagen is a Reporter staff writer

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