P.O.S Interview!
P.O.S.
P.O.S. live @ Warped 2009
Whether people want to relate punk and rap… it happens! Rapper P.O.S. (born Stefon Alexander) actually started off as just another punk rock kid in a band called Om. From that band, he was often referred to as “Pissed Off Steel” which brought on his now alias, P.O.S., which has MANY meanings, from “Product of Society” to whatever you want to make it! 🙂
As many readers may notice, I am a wee behind on posting the Warped interviews (oops). They keep popping up like little surprises left by a bunny in your backyard, but less stinky. While I loooove doing interviews, I let my brother take over on this one because he is a die hard P.O.S. fan FO LIFE. So while they chatted it up, I got to relax for once. Enjoy!
Mark and P.O.S.
Do you go by just P.O.S. or do you have another name?
No P.O.S. is good. People call me Stef in real life and that’s just fine too.
You come from Minneapolis? Big art scene?
Yep, big everything scene!
What’s it like out there for what you’re doing?
Hip hop music? Hip-hop, punk rock, hard core, heavy metal… Everything does well in Minneapolis. It’s not the biggest city ever, but it’s big enough where you can make a dent on the city with some work. I don’t know it’s just… everyone’s ready.
P.O.S. in the Warped '09 crowd
How did you get hooked up with the Warped Tour?
I don’t know, I have no idea. I did merch for Atmosphere in 2004 and picked up shows on the side and I guess they just remembered me.
I guess it kind of fits for what you’re doing, you got a lot of punk rock running in your music.
Yeah a little more punk rock than maybe half the groups out here.
You did Building Better Bombs, was that something that was going on before you started doing your own thing?
I was always rapping, my whole life I just did it for fun. I started taking hip hop seriously the same year that I formed Building Better Bombs.
And those guys are all from Minneapolis? Do you have any tour plans with them?
Yeah, we did an East Coast run right before I hit Europe this year and we’re going to do probably a full tour early next year sometime.
So are you good friends with the Bouncing Souls guys? I know you did that song with Greg.
Yeah yeah, I just got off of an 8 show UK tour with them too, right before Warped Tour stared. Yeah they’re good dudes, good friends.
Do you get out of the country a lot?
This is my first full year of tour but I try to get out as much as I can.
What does P.O.S. stand for?
Pissed off Stef, piece of shit, promise of scale, promise of stress, product of society, parent over shoulder, performing on stages… yeah whatever. Anything that fits really is cool with me.
Mark, backstage with P.O.S.
Listening to your music, you obviously play a lot to the lower class. So do you struggle like everybody else?
Absolutely, just like everybody else. I grew up on the north side of Minneapolis, very poor with my mom. We moved to the first-ring suburbs when she met a guy that helped make that work. And I kinda got out of the first-ring suburbs as quick as I could. I don’t know man, it’s just one of those things, I’ve never been about flashing or trying to be better than anybody else. So much of hip hop and even punk rock is all these guys trying to think they’re famous. So much is about showing what you have and how cool you are, and not enough is about just being real, and inviting everyone else to be real with you.
What’s coming up in the future? I know you got Never Better that’s out.
Yeah Never Better is out and we’re touring it all year. People love it, it’s definitely my favorite. And doing a week with Bad Brains on the West Coast, and headlining everywhere.
What’s Never Better all about?
The theme of the record is, doing something with yourself. Not all the songs are about that, but the overarching theme is, make something of yourself, make yourself happy. Do something that you care about and pretty much fuck ’em if they hate you. People give other people a lot of shit for enjoying themselves. People like to say “guilty pleasure” when talking about songs they like, and that’s not even fucking fair. Nobody gets to pick for you what you like, you know? Nobody gets to tell you what’s cool, it’s all about you.
How do you feel like things have changed since your first album?
I think the biggest changes I’ve noticed are the people that feel it, you know, the people that are trying to do this with me… there’s more of them, and they’re excited. And that’s what I’m trying to do, is get people excited and have the best time ever.
I was at one of your shows, where something happened to your DJ and you had to do the whole show using your iPod. After the show I went up to you and asked if you wanted to smoke half a blunt with us, and you just said, “No, I do not want to smoke half a blunt with you.”
Haha. I don’t mind smoking weed… I just can’t smoke blunts because I lose my voice. You know, blunts are just hard on a rapper’s throat if you ask me. I know a lot of rappers that do, but I scream at my shows you know. I put it all out there and I lose my voice real quick.
That was Minus the Bear I think. P.O.S., Minus the Bear…
Yep, and Russian Circles and Velveteen. That was probably my favorite tour ever.
P.O.S. live at Warped Tour 2009
Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years I’d like to see myself six records deep, with smart, loyal fans. I’m doin’ this forever, man.
How do you feel about Michael Jackson passing on?
That’s a good question, I feel like he’s a genius musician that left a solid legacy of music, and I’m glad that it went this way instead in a hail of controversy. I know there’s a little controversy with this one, but regardless, it’s better than it could have been.
Do you think it’s a conspiracy that all these celebrities died around the same time?
Deaths come in threes, that’s the way it goes. I hate when people die, but hey, that’s the way it goes. I’ll die, you guys will die too. Hopefully when we die, people will say, “Hey, they were good.”
Well is there anything else you want to say?
Doomtree.net, rhymesayers.com, and twitter me @yeahrightPOS
What is your association with the first two?
Doomtree is my rap group, rhymesayers is my record label.
Do you think that 2 Live Crew stole Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman beat?
Probably. Rap is made from stealing things from other people. That’s just what rap beats are made out of.
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P.O.S.
MySpace
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About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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