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P.O.S and Astronautalis have joined forces to form FOUR FISTS. Doomtree Records proudly presents their debut release: a limited-edition 7-inch featuring two new songs, “Please Go” and “MMMMMHMMMMM,” and the instrumental version of each.

Astronautalis is part emcee, part method actor, with an uncanny ability to channel characters on the edge—of a breakdown, of a revelation, of a fistfight. P.O.S (Rhymesayers/Doomtree) made his name as a gifted risk-taker, fashioning head-nodding beats from strange noises, and writing anthemic lyrics from unexpected vantage points.

These first two tracks from FOUR FISTS were produced collaboratively by the duo, holed up in P.O.S’ attic during an exceptionally brutal Minnesota winter. In these songs, listeners will hear the rappers’ usual sharpness and a nod to traditional notions of hip-hop collaborations, but their noir approach yields an entirely new sound: dark choral layers and punk rock gang vocals create a sense of impending doom. “Please Go” is a haunting number that runs on thick, brooding bass; it’s shaped by a frayed synth, whispered vocal takes, and soaring strings that sweep in and out of the darkness like cars passing in the distance. “MMMMMHMMMMM” opens with quick snares, in the sharp staccato stabs of an Underwood typewriter, and a bass synth that pulses like an idling outboard motor, till the track explodes into a wall of layered drums and throat-shredding vocals—P.O.S and Astronautalis at their most deadly. The two songs clock in under 8 minutes and still hit like a ton of bricks, leaving you dizzy, breathless, and eager for this duo’s coming full length album.

Four Fists "MMMMMHMMMMM"

cause ima bastard to these bitches all the playas know. they selling crack in the back as i hits the herb...

Bastard to these Bitches

Fresh Air

To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy: The Atmosphere EPs

The Best Day

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

The Waitress

Puppets

We Don't Even Live Here

Get Down (feat. Mike Mictlan)

The 40 Akerz Project

The Scene from Collateral (Skit)

Champagne Nightmares

Feeling Inside

P.O.S was born in Minneapolis as Stefon Alexander, where everybody still calls him Stef. As a little kid, he developed a fascination with an older cousin's bass guitar. Stef was allowed to take it home and he banged on it happily for years before realizing that it was intended to be played through an amp. "I just thought it was supposed to be a quiet instrument." As a teenager, he fell hard for punk rock. Minor Threat, At the Drive-In, Refused, Kid Dynamite. He played in a series of hardcore bands, sometimes as a drummer, sometimes on guitar and vocals. From the start, he preferred basement shows to club gigs. Simultaneously, he pursued hip hop, rapping in the hallways and after school with classmates who would eventually found Doomtree Records. P.O.S released his first rap record, Ipecac Neat, on Doomtree in 2003. After signing with Rhymesayers shortly after, it was quickly released and widely distributed on Rhymesayers Entertainment. The album earned P.O.S a dedicated following of critics and underground fans. Two years later they devoured his melodic sophomore release Audition, which featured collaborations with heavyweights like Slug from Atmosphere; Craig Finn of The Hold Steady; and Greg Attonito of The Bouncing Souls. On the verge of his third release, with his trajectory unchecked, P.O.S still doesn't take himself too seriously. He doesn't sweat the musical trends. He locks himself in his bedroom studio until the early hours of the morning, emerges with a song, and couldn't care less how someone else would have gone about it.

Like many great rappers, P.O.S creates his own self-contained little microcosm-his characters become familial to us; we get in on his slang and inside jokes. His mother and his son Jacob emerge as familiar personalities. We know his politics too: P.O.S doesn't hesitate to call out the compounding absurdities of pop culture, either with a little friendly ribbing or with a Molotov cocktail. On Never Better he drops deft one-liners that cut to the quick of America's stuff-obsessed culture, Can't take it with them can they?

Amidst the swagger, the laughter and the wit, P.O.S also provides a portal to his personal life-a young man ferociously determined to succeed as a father, a musician, and a human being. He's earnest, sometimes frustrated, irresistibly likable, and he's goofy. With that kind of wingspan, he can rally almost any crowd-live he's like the Pied Piper of the underground. He can make a rap show feel like a revival, a mosh pit, or a reunion. He will stand on chair. He'll invent a dance. Then the beat drops, the hands go up, and you're converted.