There can be no denying that the popularity of P.O.S. has grown probably faster than any artist ever on Rhymesayers Entertainment. One could make an argument for Brother Ali, no doubt, and the two are very comparable when it comes to popularity from the underground scene and how quickly their popularity has taken off. P.O.S., whose name is very hard and annoying to try type quickly on a computer, spent time touring with the Gym Class Heroes when they were at the height of their popularity back in 2007.
An appreciation can be made for P.O.S. in not only his unique style of hip-hop/punk-rock, but also his genius to even take it that route. When one considers the two underground followings that are the most powerful and by far the strongest, it is easy to see that Punk-Rock and Hip-Hop have the two of strongest underground followings. Instead of P.O.S. choosing to appease to one crowd, he appeases to both. Most importantly, he does it well.
With the release of his newest album, Never Better, the expectations were high for a quality follow-up. When listening to Never Better you will find features by his Doomtree mates such as the beautiful vocals of Dessa on 'Low Light, Low Life.' One word can be used to describe the release this new project: "Unique." Now I for one loved Audition enough to say it was one of my favorite releases of 2006, and in a lot of ways I think Never Better is a better album, but also a worse album in some ways. There is no doubt that he is so unique with his sound with the intense live drums prevalent through the majority of the album. Sometimes, however, I think the album strays away from the Hip-Hop genre and tends to go more in a metal or heavy underground punk-rock direction. Now, if you like that music, then this album would do wonders for you. However, I tend to stick to hip-hop, which is why I find appreciation for songs like 'Savion Glover,' and 'Goodbye.' I truly think they are songs that any hip hop fan will appreciate.
Having said that, there are times when I find the album less appealing like on tracks such as "Drumroll." These are the songs where a mosh pit will start in a hip-hop crowd which is unique, beautiful, and weird all at the same time... like a 75 year old lady driving a brand new Ford F-150. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that he is pushing people to expand their limits of what hip hop is and can be, but some of the songs simply don't appeal to me. Songs like "Out Of Category" show his great songwriting ability, but also show that not every song he makes is in-your-face, which is nice because it adds a nice change-up to the feel of the album.
Further discussing the uniqueness is the song "Optimist (We Are Not For Them)." A friend of his a few years ago showed him a trick with some dixie cups (which he speaks about in the song) where he learns the ability to make a solid beat out of turning the cups and tapping them. Throw on a nice smooth sound over the drums of the cup, and you have an incredibly unique album. And oh yes, how could I forget how cool the stickers are with the packaging and book of the inside cover to the album. A truly unique album that pushes the boundaries of hip-hop. Even if you don't like much of P.O.S.'s music, you still have to appreciate what he is doing for the culture.
Best Song: Goodbye
Rating: 8.2/10
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