Music Preview: P.O.S. at Harper's Ferry Tonight

Image of P.O.S. taken from his Myspace page.

Together, rock and hip-hop carry out a tumultuous life in concert with one another. No doubt, hip-hop was born from the Jamaican-influenced style of mixing break-beats - in this case, of funk tracks rather than reggae—in a live setting so the electric-stringed instrumentals could keep a party raging all night. Although the greater umbrella of rock music's influence on hip-hop is dully noted, many attempts to combine both genres have been mixed at best. Yes, there's the famous Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration, "Walk This Way," which proved to be a knockout. But what about Limp Bizkit? Surely the former cannot be placed on the same level as the later.

Enter Stefon Alexander, aka P.O.S., a member of the Minneapolis hip-hop collective that lives under the Rhymesayers record label. Next to label founder and Atmosphere rapper Slug, Alexander may be the most prolific, talented, and artistically-flexible musician in the Midwest. Alexander cut his teeth on punk with his band Building Better Bombs before moving on to focusing on hip-hop. Since 2003, Alexander has released two excellent albums as P.O.S. and one as part of his Minneapolis hip-hop super-group Doomtree. However, from just a few samples of the new P.O.S. album, Never Better, Alexander may just be realizing his full potential now. Fusing the dark, minimalist, punk-flavored tension of his debut (Ipecac Neat) with his smooth, angelic flow over golden-age hip-hop worthy instrumentations featured in his sophomore disc (Audition), Never Better is a simply brilliant release by P.O.S. For a brilliant live treat, be sure to catch P.O.S. tonight at Harper's Ferry. Bostonist still has dreams of catching Alexander in an opening slot at the Middle East Downstairs, armed with nothing but a mic and an iPod; his fierce and agile performance easily won over the crowd, a feat that would any consummate gig-goer in awe. That's the kind of show that will make you forget all about the Limp Bizkits of the world.