Blaq Poet

An alum of late-'80s/early-'90s golden age hip-hop, vicious Queensbridge lyricist Blaq Poet gradually slipped into his reputable underground status as the '90s and 2000s progressed onwards. Known then as MC Poet, he debuted in the mid-'80s with the ill-befitting dance-rap single "The Wopp Sensation." However, he regained ground when he embroiled himself in the Bronx-Queens feud between <a href="spotify:artist:4toEjJSZu1rbfX2hfVdZFA">Boogie Down Productions</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0AqfGv5Nifg1klh0iH4Nqs">Marley Marl</a>'s Juice Crew, unleashing the <a href="spotify:artist:2gINJ8xw86xawPyGvx1bla">KRS-One</a> dis record, "Beat You Down," in 1987. A few years later, he teamed up with producer and turntablist DJ Hot Day to form the duo PHD; the two recorded for Tuff City, releasing the 12" "I'm Flipping" (1991) and the overindulgently violent and boastful album Without Warning (1991), which contained early guest raps by Queensbridge notables <a href="spotify:artist:6UnvX7Zx85VNjOpLdaq49W">Havoc</a> (of <a href="spotify:artist:6O2zJ0tId7g07yzHtX0yap">Mobb Deep</a>) and <a href="spotify:artist:4vQLu6vYK0hp8k0fsAzsU8">Cormega</a>.

Aside from another PHD single in 1995 on Tuff City, "The Grand P.O.," <a href="spotify:artist:3QOBJ2YJRKSoGemKTySbVS">Poet</a> retreated during the middle of the '90s, save for a few mixtape appearances here and there. But in the late '90s, he helped put together the five-person, all-Queensbridge rap group <a href="spotify:artist:7gWDOIgkiklsoggs6UyZXD">Screwball</a>, who enjoyed beats from the likes of producer legends <a href="spotify:artist:3BeQqzKdlARoOd6y30kCO2">Pete Rock</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">DJ Premier</a>. The group's label, Tommy Boy, had some issues with their rough-and-tumble rap music, especially considering their 1999 singles, "Who Shot Rudy?" (as in at-the-time New York mayor Rudy Giuliani) and "F.A.Y.B.A.N." (an acronym for "F*ck All Y'all B*tch Ass Ni**as"). Regardless, Tommy Boy issued <a href="spotify:artist:7gWDOIgkiklsoggs6UyZXD">Screwball</a>'s full-length debut, Y2K, in 2000. Since then, <a href="spotify:artist:3QOBJ2YJRKSoGemKTySbVS">Poet</a> frequently worked with <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">DJ Premier</a> and joined the roster of <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a>'s Year Round Records as a solo artist. A number of mixtapes and 12"s were issued before his first LP, Rewind: Deja Screw, hit shelves in 2006. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi