Kelvin Mercer

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Kelvin Mercer (born August 17, 1969) is a rapper, producer, and one-third of the groundbreaking hip hop trio De La Soul. He is known more famously by his alias Posdnuos, or simply Pos.

Pos and Dave were childhood friends. They met Mase in the early 80s while attending Amityville High School in Long Island, New York. Pos' father was a jazz enthusiast.

As a member of De La Soul, Pos is generally regarded as one of the most consistent and underrated MCs of all time. Like the other members of the group, he is now an elder statesman of hip hop music. This is a fact which, through the years, Pos has used to impart some of his hard-earned experiences in songs such as "Held Down", and "Trying People", from AOI: Bionix. On the latter, he raps: "We were supposed to rid the world of danger / These days we nod heads and small talk like polite strangers / It's natural to fall off, just land close to the tree / I'll be there if they need me to be"

Pos is also known for his witty, double entendre-laden battle rhymes. For example in "Down Syndrome" from 1996's Stakes Is High, he states: "I be a piece of the East Coast, so give a toast to Plug Wonder Why / Back in the day who soaked his words in ginger / So when I ran a phrase in June, you didn't catch it 'til December".

Posdnuos is a member of the Spitkicker collective.

[edit] Aliases

All three members of De La Soul have a variety of known aliases and nicknames used throughout the group's career. The following are the most significant:

  • Posdnuos - Pronounced "pas-ta-noos". The name is backwards for "Sounds-Op", a name Pos went by while acting as a high school DJ.
  • Plug One - An early concept for 3 Feet High and Rising involved music being transmitted from Mars by three microphone plugs (each one representing a member of the group). Though this idea was abandoned, the titles "Plug One", "Plug Two" and "Plug Three" still became relevant on the album. Pos' title of Plug One would eventually evolve into Plug Wonder Why.
  • Mercenary - Derived from the last name, "Mercer". This name was given by DCQ, brother of Mos Def [1].
De La Soul
Posdnuos | Dave | Maseo
Studio albums
3 Feet High and Rising (1989) | De La Soul Is Dead (1991) | Buhloone Mindstate (1993) | Clear Lake Audiotorium (EP) (1994) | Stakes Is High (1996) | Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) | AOI: Bionix (2001) | Live at Tramps, NYC, 1996 (2004) | The Grind Date (2004) | The Impossible: Mission TV Series - Pt. 1 (2006) 
Singles
Potholes in My Lawn| Plug Tunin'| Buddy| Eye Know| Me Myself And I| Say No Go| The Magic Number| Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)| A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"| Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa / Keepin' The Faith| Breakadawn| Ego Trippin' (Part Two)| Fallin'| Stakes Is High| Itzsoweezee (HOT)| 4 More| Oooh.| All Good?| Thru Ya City| Baby Phat| Shoomp| Shopping Bags (She Got From You)| Rock Co.Kane Flow|Feel Good Inc.
Related articles
Native Tongues | Prince Paul | Spitkicker
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