Pos is Never Better

Right off the bat, I'm just going to say that even if you hate hip hop, you should own Pos' newest record simply because of the graphic artistry that's been put together to make this album happen.  Never Better with its clear digipack design with multiple cover options, has to be one of the coolest graphically designed records of the last five years.  In a time when the music industry is cutting costs and artists left and right, it's as if Pos is thumbing his nose and saying...music is art...and art is important no matter the cost.

 

Cover aside, Never Better builds upon the solid indie hop that Pos is already known for and established with 2006's Audition.  This is a guy unafraid of any sound or genre and if given the chance will find a way to work it all in. In a sense he's the most punk rock thing in hip hop right now and even goes off about it on "Out of Category."  Pos is intelligent, crafty, wordy, and in touch with modern society.  This is a guy that happily mixes his political thoughts with distortion and beats as if that's the way it's always supposed be. 


Throughout Never Better Pos rattles off rhymes here like an Uzi out of control; words come at you fast and furiously at twice the speed of sound and if you're not careful they'll knock your eye out.  Never Better is lethal stuff that once again proves that no one does it better than Pos does both in front of and behind the mixing board.  In fact, over half the beats on this record were created by him and have his characteristic aggression written all over them.  His beats may not be club bangers, but they bang...and bang, and clang and beat you over the head until they're felt and punish you. 


At the end of the day Never Better will probably be one of the most original hip hop albums of 2009.  He may not get all the props that the big names of the day get, but Pos is a marvel of modern hip hop.  He's got punk rock credibility, a strong sense of how to create a song with impact, flow that's mightier than the Mississippi, and beats that are brutal.  What more could you want in a hip hop artist?  Not very much I would guess.