P.O.S., whose name serves as shorthand for Product of Society, Piece of Sh*t, and Promise of Skill among other phrases, acquired his skills on bass, guitar, keyboards, and drums entirely through self-directed practice. Punk’s kinetic drive shaped his formative period, when he played drums in Cadillac Blindside and handled vocals plus guitar in Building Better Bombs. Exposure to hip-hop arrived at fourteen through Company Flow and Oddjobs, after which he began rapping recreationally and appearing at modest Minneapolis venues.
Doomtree, the label and collective he co-founded, issued his debut solo album Ipecac Neat in 2004 from a studio housed in the basement of the shared residence occupied by many of its members. Rhymesayers responded by signing him at once, re-releasing that record and the subsequent albums Audition in 2006 and the expansive Never Better in 2009. We Don't Even Live Here appeared on the label in 2012, its content marked by political rhymes and anarchist attitude.
Kidney problems led him to step away from music for several years until a transplant in 2014 allowed a return. The 2016 single “sleepdrone/superposition” signaled his reemergence, featuring Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and the Julie Ruin alongside Lizzo, Allan Kingdom, and his son Hard_R. His fifth full-length, Chill, Dummy, reached listeners at the beginning of 2017.
