P.O.S.
The RAPstation Interview
By Kyle Eustice
Anyone who has followed Doomtree's career knows that emcee P.O.S (real name Stefon Alexander) was having severe health issues that caused him to lay low for the better part of three years. The Minneapolis native and Rhymesayers signee had just released 2012's We Don't Even Live Here when he was forced to cancel a major national tour due to health concerns. Thankfully, that ordeal is over and he is now the proud owner of two new kidneys. Naturally, he's back to killing it. The Doomtree crew, which is comprised of Cecil Otter, Mike Mictlan, Sims, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, Dessa, and P.O.S., is getting ready to drop their third official full-length album, All Hands, January 27. As Doomtree preps for tour, P.O.S. popped his head out of the studio to talk "Fuck Your Stuff," the Doomtree logo and suburban housewives. Check out www.doomtree.net for the full tour schedule.
RAPstation (Kyle Eustice): It was great to see you on stage this summer at the MAHA Festival in Omaha. How have you been since your kidney transplant?
Great. Pretty much better every day. I'm really excited about getting out to play some shows. Doomtree shows are a lot easier than solo shows. Even those are getting easier.
I was bummed you didn't really get to tour for We Don't Even Live Here. Will you be doing solo songs off that record?
We make sure everybody gets their solo sets, too.
All Hands drops January 27 so tell me a little bit about the recording process.
If you remember, we did 2011's No Kings in a couple weeks. We went off to a cabin and pounded it out. It worked out really well. We did the same thing as far as doing a cabin trip, but we ended up taking four or five cabin trips over the course of a year this time. Cecil and [Lazer] Beak did a really good job of getting the beats in a zone that really fit each other and felt really good. We wanted to write good songs. We did an initial recording where we demo'ed a bunch of stuff and then at the end kind of cruch-timed a bunch of it.
I like the video for "Gray Duck."
We wanted to do a fun video. The dude [Andrew] Melby that directed it came with a concept. There might have been a couple of us that hoped it came out cool and it did. It shows the energy of the song.
Speaking of energy, I think that's your strong suit. You guys always come with massive amounts of energy. Do you pride yourself on delivering the best performance possible at every show?
Yeah, we come from a city where there are a ton of great performers so it's always been important to try and go above and beyond to be a great live show to see.
Our first interview in 2009 was for the Albuquerque Alibi.
Crazy.
I know, right? Although I met you in 2006 at Sokol Underground in Omaha.
Oh yeah, I remember that.
We talked about your background in punk. How do you see punk and hip-hop coinciding?
I think they both come from place where I make music because I can; not extensive training, piano lessons as a kid but because I want to say something and I'm going to. They also both have the ability to create an energy that's pretty destructive to normal people's ears.
I like that about you, too. You seem to be really passionate about everything you do and have a kind of "I don't give a fuck" attitude. If you could get across any message to your fans, what would it be?
I guess that there's a prescribed life plan, but it definitely doesn't fit most people. I feel like the idea of go to school, go to college, get a job, buy a house, find a girl, get married, have a kid in a specific order, in a specific place with a specific set of stuff you want to get to complete your wardrobe, I think even attempting to do that makes people depressed. I think it's a lot more important to find a life you really care about.
I feel like it sets you up for misery. I went to this kind of upper class catholic school and all the kids were so wealthy. Many of my classmates seem to be these suburban wives and I wonder if they're happy. I am lucky I didn't go that route. One of my favorite tracks off We Don't Even Live Here is "Fuck Your Stuff." I couldn’t agree more. Is that similar to what you’re talking about?
That's the vibe I talked about a lot. That's an important set of values to live by as far as I'm concerned. It's not like you can't have nice shit. Everybody should enjoy what they want. You can't define yourself by that shit or the ability to obtain it. You have to find something about you that can make you happy.
Who did the logo for Doomtree?
That's something Cecil Otter has been drawing since old graffiti days like 15 years ago. In graffiti, in that whole world, and in hip-hop, it's always been about, 'I'M A KING!' They would throw up a piece and throw a crown on top of there to express their greatness. Cecil would cross that out way back then. Whenever he did a crown, he would cross it out just on some no kings shit. It wasn't something we even realized all the way until we were well into that vibe all as a unit. When we made that record, it just made sense.
You completed the last Doomtree Blowout in December. Why end it after such a great run?
Doing something for a decade is tight. We did it for a decade and now we're going to do a new thing [laughs]. I think if Seinfeld would have waited to season 25 when no one laughed at it and slowly withered off the air, it wouldn't have gone down as some legendary shit. Going out after a nice long run, but still hot as shit, I think that's a good way to do it. Going out when it's not going down. We have a new event that we're starting to plan right now. We're not going anywhere.
I had a great interview with Mike [Mictlan] and he was telling me how you picked him up form the hospital. It illustrates just how tight-knit the Doomtree family is.
Nobody wants to tell their friend what they can and can't do, but you don't want to see your friend go off the deep end either. It was a tricky situation. We don't have a business relationship. The people in this crew want to be here. We love and care about each other. We want to make sure we're all good. I don't think anybody in the same situation would have done anything differently.
Do you think touring makes it harder for people with maybe addictive personalities?
I think touring has a lot of down time. I think it's different with us because we're all looking out for each other. If it was me in his situation, I would be worried about getting home. When you're able to be around close friends on tour, it's good. There are times when touring is depressing, but that's what you do all the work for at home.
Are you still doing Marijuana Deathsquads?
I'm doing Marijuana Deathsquads and looking forward to starting more projects this year.
Seems like you can't sit still.
I mean I sat still for almost three years [laughs]. I'm very much ready to not be sitting still.
Are you going to do another solo record anytime soon?
I'm actually recording right now [laughs].
Can you divulge any info?
It's not under wraps like I have a bunch of secrets, but I'm not far into it yet so there's not much to say other than these beats are fucking crazy.
P.O.S. - The RAPstation Interview
P.O.S.
The RAPstation Interview
By Kyle Eustice
Anyone who has followed Doomtree's career knows that emcee P.O.S (real name Stefon Alexander) was having severe health issues that caused him to lay low for the better part of three years. The Minneapolis native and Rhymesayers signee had just released 2012's We Don't Even Live Here when he was forced to cancel a major national tour due to health concerns. Thankfully, that ordeal is over and he is now the proud owner of two new kidneys. Naturally, he's back to killing it. The Doomtree crew, which is comprised of Cecil Otter, Mike Mictlan, Sims, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, Dessa, and P.O.S., is getting ready to drop their third official full-length album, All Hands, January 27. As Doomtree preps for tour, P.O.S. popped his head out of the studio to talk "Fuck Your Stuff," the Doomtree logo and suburban housewives. Check out www.doomtree.net for the full tour schedule.
RAPstation (Kyle Eustice): It was great to see you on stage this summer at the MAHA Festival in Omaha. How have you been since your kidney transplant?
Great. Pretty much better every day. I'm really excited about getting out to play some shows. Doomtree shows are a lot easier than solo shows. Even those are getting easier.
I was bummed you didn't really get to tour for We Don't Even Live Here. Will you be doing solo songs off that record?
We make sure everybody gets their solo sets, too.
All Hands drops January 27 so tell me a little bit about the recording process.
If you remember, we did 2011's No Kings in a couple weeks. We went off to a cabin and pounded it out. It worked out really well. We did the same thing as far as doing a cabin trip, but we ended up taking four or five cabin trips over the course of a year this time. Cecil and [Lazer] Beak did a really good job of getting the beats in a zone that really fit each other and felt really good. We wanted to write good songs. We did an initial recording where we demo'ed a bunch of stuff and then at the end kind of cruch-timed a bunch of it.
I like the video for "Gray Duck."
We wanted to do a fun video. The dude [Andrew] Melby that directed it came with a concept. There might have been a couple of us that hoped it came out cool and it did. It shows the energy of the song.
Speaking of energy, I think that's your strong suit. You guys always come with massive amounts of energy. Do you pride yourself on delivering the best performance possible at every show?
Yeah, we come from a city where there are a ton of great performers so it's always been important to try and go above and beyond to be a great live show to see.
Our first interview in 2009 was for the Albuquerque Alibi.
Crazy.
I know, right? Although I met you in 2006 at Sokol Underground in Omaha.
Oh yeah, I remember that.
We talked about your background in punk. How do you see punk and hip-hop coinciding?
I think they both come from place where I make music because I can; not extensive training, piano lessons as a kid but because I want to say something and I'm going to. They also both have the ability to create an energy that's pretty destructive to normal people's ears.
I like that about you, too. You seem to be really passionate about everything you do and have a kind of "I don't give a fuck" attitude. If you could get across any message to your fans, what would it be?
I guess that there's a prescribed life plan, but it definitely doesn't fit most people. I feel like the idea of go to school, go to college, get a job, buy a house, find a girl, get married, have a kid in a specific order, in a specific place with a specific set of stuff you want to get to complete your wardrobe, I think even attempting to do that makes people depressed. I think it's a lot more important to find a life you really care about.
I feel like it sets you up for misery. I went to this kind of upper class catholic school and all the kids were so wealthy. Many of my classmates seem to be these suburban wives and I wonder if they're happy. I am lucky I didn't go that route. One of my favorite tracks off We Don't Even Live Here is "Fuck Your Stuff." I couldn’t agree more. Is that similar to what you’re talking about?
That's the vibe I talked about a lot. That's an important set of values to live by as far as I'm concerned. It's not like you can't have nice shit. Everybody should enjoy what they want. You can't define yourself by that shit or the ability to obtain it. You have to find something about you that can make you happy.
Who did the logo for Doomtree?
That's something Cecil Otter has been drawing since old graffiti days like 15 years ago. In graffiti, in that whole world, and in hip-hop, it's always been about, 'I'M A KING!' They would throw up a piece and throw a crown on top of there to express their greatness. Cecil would cross that out way back then. Whenever he did a crown, he would cross it out just on some no kings shit. It wasn't something we even realized all the way until we were well into that vibe all as a unit. When we made that record, it just made sense.
You completed the last Doomtree Blowout in December. Why end it after such a great run?
Doing something for a decade is tight. We did it for a decade and now we're going to do a new thing [laughs]. I think if Seinfeld would have waited to season 25 when no one laughed at it and slowly withered off the air, it wouldn't have gone down as some legendary shit. Going out after a nice long run, but still hot as shit, I think that's a good way to do it. Going out when it's not going down. We have a new event that we're starting to plan right now. We're not going anywhere.
I had a great interview with Mike [Mictlan] and he was telling me how you picked him up form the hospital. It illustrates just how tight-knit the Doomtree family is.
Nobody wants to tell their friend what they can and can't do, but you don't want to see your friend go off the deep end either. It was a tricky situation. We don't have a business relationship. The people in this crew want to be here. We love and care about each other. We want to make sure we're all good. I don't think anybody in the same situation would have done anything differently.
Do you think touring makes it harder for people with maybe addictive personalities?
I think touring has a lot of down time. I think it's different with us because we're all looking out for each other. If it was me in his situation, I would be worried about getting home. When you're able to be around close friends on tour, it's good. There are times when touring is depressing, but that's what you do all the work for at home.
Are you still doing Marijuana Deathsquads?
I'm doing Marijuana Deathsquads and looking forward to starting more projects this year.
Seems like you can't sit still.
I mean I sat still for almost three years [laughs]. I'm very much ready to not be sitting still.
Are you going to do another solo record anytime soon?
I'm actually recording right now [laughs].
Can you divulge any info?
It's not under wraps like I have a bunch of secrets, but I'm not far into it yet so there's not much to say other than these beats are fucking crazy.
