P.O.S (rapper)

For other uses, see POS.

P.O.S
P.O.S at Warped Tour in 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Stefon Alexander
Born	(1981-08-18) August 18, 1981
Genres	Alternative hip hop, hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Rapper, singer, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, drummer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Drums
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Doomtree Records<br\>Rhymesayers Entertainment
Website	P.O.S on Doomtree.net

P.O.S (born Stefon Alexander) is a rapper, singer and multi-instrumentalist from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He is a founding member of indie hip hop collective Doomtree and is currently signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment. He has also fronted a number of punk rock bands and is currently serving as guitarist and vocalist for Building Better Bombs, as well as vocalist and keyboardist for Marijuana Deathsquads.

Career

Naming

Stefon first began as a punk rock musician. In high school, Stefon and his friends played punk shows in a band called "Om" in which he came to be referred to as "Pissed Off Stef," or "P.O.S." Since then, the abbreviation has been given other meanings including "Product of Society," "Patrick O'Sullivan," "Promise of Stress," "Promise of Skill," "Point of Sale," "Plain Ole Stef," and "Piece of Shit." Stefon has said that "(it) means anything that fits into my song."

Entering rap

At first hostile to hip hop, P.O.S soon decided that rap was a valid alternative method of expression. He began creating music that was increasingly influenced by the genre.

In 2001, P.O.S, rapper Syst (short for System) and DJ Anomaly formed a short-lived hip-hop group Cenospecies. They released one album Indefinition in 2002 before shortly breaking up. The group won the award for "Best Band to Break Up in the Past 12 Months" in the year-end issue of The City Pages.

Doomtree

P.O.S is a founding member of Doomtree, a seven member collective of emcees, producers and DJs. His debut EP False Hopes with Cecil Otter and first solo 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 Ipecac Neat. Since that point, his albums have been jointly released by both Doomtree and Rhymesayers.

In January 2006, P.O.S' second album Audition was released, raising his profile nationally. Since then, he has mainly focused on Doomtree projects. In 2007, the whole collective released a collaborative album False Hopes. In 2008, they released the first official album Doomtree. P.O.S' live shows throughout Minneapolis and the country are usually supported by other members of the collective.

In February 2009, P.O.S released his third album Never Better. The album came with a unique form of artwork. The liner notes, which include six transparent slides, can be rearranged to put the listener's own personal touch on the cover and backing art. The first single "Drumroll" was received well among college and alternative radio alike.

Side projects

P.O.S is a vocalist and guitarist in the punk band Building Better Bombs. They released an album Freak Out Squares on Init Records in 2007.

He is currently a member of Minneapolis indie supergroup Gayngs. The band also features members of Bon Iver, The Rosebuds and Solid Gold. Their first album Relayted was released on Jagjaguwar in 2010.

Members of Marijuana Deathsquads played as P.O.S' backing band at Coachella in 2010, and he frequently joins them for live shows in Minneapolis. Marijuana Deathsquads consists of musicians from Gayngs, as well as Building Better Bombs. Their first album Crazy Master was released in 2011.

P.O.S is also a member of hardcore punk band Wharf Rats. Other members include Chris 2 of Anti-Flag on bass and Wade MacNeil of Alexisonfire on guitar.

Recently, he has also started a side project The Four Fists with Astronautalis, after each contributed a song to each other's latest records. They will also be in the studio together to record an album.

Musical style

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. He has described his music as "rap to skateboard to."

Performances

P.O.S often plays local shows throughout Minnesota and occasionally tours the country with other artists signed to Rhymesayers. In promotion of his first solo album Ipecac Neat, P.O.S toured across the United States and Canada with DJ Turbo Nemesis, Sims and Mac Lethal. In 2007, P.O.S opened for Gym Class Heroes on The Darryl Hall for President Tour. P.O.S has also been Warped Tours in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, he was scheduled to play every date on the tour. In 2008, P.O.S joined Underoath on tour, an artist he had previously sampled on the track "P.O.S is Ruining My Life."

The release of his third album coincided with the Never Better Tour which took P.O.S, along with other members of Doomtree, on a twenty city tour, culminating in a homecoming show in Minneapolis. In early 2009, P.O.S was on tour with Atmosphere and Attracted To Gods on the When God Gives You Ugly Tour. In the summer of 2009, P.O.S played Warped Tour on the Hurley.com stage. On the Calgary date of the 2009 Warped tour, P.O.S filled in for Timothy McTague of Underoath on guitar. In the fall of 2009, P.O.S toured as direct support for Bad Brains on the West Coast. In the same year, he also supported The King Blues on their tour.

Discography

Doomtree albums

Release date	Title	Label	Chart positions
September 14, 2002	P.O.S & Cecil Otter: False Hopes 1	Doomtree Records	-
December 31, 2003	P.O.S & Cecil Otter: False Hopes Mega!	Doomtree Records	-
December 16, 2007	False Hopes	Doomtree Records	-
July 29, 2008	Doomtree	Doomtree Records	-
December 6, 2009	FH​:​XV (False Hopes 15)	Doomtree Records	-
June 26, 2010	Doomtree Standards Mixtape	Doomtree Records	-
November 22, 2011	No Kings	Doomtree Records	-

Solo albums

Release date	Title	Label	Chart positions
March 16, 2004	Ipecac Neat	Rhymesayers Entertainment	-
January 29, 2006	Audition	Rhymesayers Entertainment	-
February 3, 2009	Never Better	Rhymesayers Entertainment	#106 US
September 18, 2012	We Don't Even Live Here	Rhymesayers Entertainment	-

Solo singles

• "Half Cocked Concepts" (2005)
• "Bleeding Hearts Club" (2006)
• "P.O.S Is Ruining My Life" (2006)
• "Goodbye" (2009)
• "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)" (2009)
• "Optimist (We Are Not For Them)" (2009)
• "Purexed" (2009)

Guest appearances

• Mel Gibson and the Pants - "Shark Sandwich" from A Mannequin American (2004)
• Sims - "No Homeowners" from Lights Out Paris (2005)
• Mel Gibson and the Pants - "Collars Popped and Loaded" from W​/​Guitar (2005)
• Astronautalis - "The Story of My Life" from Pomegranate (2008)
• Mike Mictlan & Lazerbeak - "Shux" from Hand Over Fist (2008)
• B. Dolan - "Fall of T.R.O.Y." from Fallen House, Sunken City (2010)
• Dark Time Sunshine - "Primor" from Vessel (2010)
• Sims - "Too Much" from Bad Time Zoo (2011)
• Gayngs - "No Scrubs (P.O.S Regrind)" from Affiliyated (2011)
• Open Mike Eagle - "Why Pianos Break" from Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (2011)
• Astronautalis - "This Is Our Science" from This Is Our Science (2011)
• Scroobius Pip - "Let 'Em Come" from Distraction Pieces (2011)
• Dark Time Sunshine - "Overlordian" from ANX (2012)

External links

• Template:MySpace
• P.O.S on Rhymesayers.com
• P.O.S on Doomtree.net
• Never Better Official Site
• P.O.S at Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT show review by SLUG Magazine