Biography
A product of the late-'80s and early-'90s golden age of hip-hop, the sharp-tongued Queensbridge wordsmith Blaq Poet slipped from early visibility into a respected but low-profile underground presence throughout the following two decades. Recording at first under the name MC Poet, he surfaced in the middle of the '80s with the mismatched dance-rap track "The Wopp Sensation." He reentered the conversation by entering the Bronx-versus-Queens conflict pitting Boogie Down Productions against Marley Marl's Juice Crew, issuing the 1987 KRS-One diss track "Beat You Down."
Soon afterward Poet linked with producer and turntablist DJ Hot Day to create the duo PHD, which cut sides for Tuff City and delivered the 1991 12-inch "I'm Flipping" plus the aggressively violent and self-aggrandizing album Without Warning that same year, an effort that included early guest verses from Queensbridge figures Havoc of Mobb Deep and Cormega. Following one additional PHD release on Tuff City, the 1995 single "The Grand P.O.," he kept a low profile for most of the mid-'90s aside from scattered mixtape spots. By the close of the decade he had assembled the five-member, entirely Queensbridge crew Screwball, whose tracks drew production from veteran beat-makers Pete Rock and DJ Premier. Their label Tommy Boy expressed reservations about the group's hard-edged material, particularly the 1999 singles "Who Shot Rudy?"—a reference to then-mayor Rudy Giuliani—and "F.A.Y.B.A.N.," shorthand for "F*ck All Y'all B*tch Ass Ni**as." Tommy Boy nevertheless put out the collective's debut album Y2K in 2000.
Thereafter Poet maintained regular studio ties with DJ Premier and signed to the producer's Year Round Records imprint for solo work. A succession of mixtapes and 12-inch releases preceded the arrival of his first proper full-length, Rewind: Deja Screw, in 2006.
Soon afterward Poet linked with producer and turntablist DJ Hot Day to create the duo PHD, which cut sides for Tuff City and delivered the 1991 12-inch "I'm Flipping" plus the aggressively violent and self-aggrandizing album Without Warning that same year, an effort that included early guest verses from Queensbridge figures Havoc of Mobb Deep and Cormega. Following one additional PHD release on Tuff City, the 1995 single "The Grand P.O.," he kept a low profile for most of the mid-'90s aside from scattered mixtape spots. By the close of the decade he had assembled the five-member, entirely Queensbridge crew Screwball, whose tracks drew production from veteran beat-makers Pete Rock and DJ Premier. Their label Tommy Boy expressed reservations about the group's hard-edged material, particularly the 1999 singles "Who Shot Rudy?"—a reference to then-mayor Rudy Giuliani—and "F.A.Y.B.A.N.," shorthand for "F*ck All Y'all B*tch Ass Ni**as." Tommy Boy nevertheless put out the collective's debut album Y2K in 2000.
Thereafter Poet maintained regular studio ties with DJ Premier and signed to the producer's Year Round Records imprint for solo work. A succession of mixtapes and 12-inch releases preceded the arrival of his first proper full-length, Rewind: Deja Screw, in 2006.
Albums
Singles
