Respecta.is - The Ultimate Hip Hop Portal

First heard in 1987, at the age of 17, on the KRS-One diss track "Beat You Down," Queensbridge veteran MC Blaq Poet would later go on to form the group PhD alongside DJ Hot Day (their debut effort, Without Warning, was released in 1991 on Tuff City Records), and later the group Screwball, with fellow QB emcees KL, Hostyle and Kyron. Screwball's debut album Y2K spawned the classic singles "Who Shot Rudy," (in reference to former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani) and "F.A.Y.B.A.N." Screwball followed up their debut with 2000's Loyalty (Landspeed Records), but the group split up after the passing of KL in 2008, and Blaq Poet went on to sign a solo deal with DJ Premier and dropped 2009's Tha Blaqprint on Year Round Records, on which DJ Premier produced 13 tracks.

In 2001, Poet joined forces with Brutal Music and Brick Records and released the acclaimed Blaq Poet Society, which featured Vinnie Paz, Capone, R.A. the Rugged Man, Reef the Lost Cauze, Chief Kamachi, Wais P and Demigodz MC's Celph Titled and Apathy.

This year, Blaq Poet is back with another vicious album, this time on indy imprint On The Block, but still crammed with that wicked lyrical content Poet has built his career on. While other QB mc's have softened over the years, Blaq Poet seems to get rougher around the edges as time ticks by. On E.B.K. (short for EveryBodyKilla), Po delivers more knockout punches on the mic than all of his previous efforts combined, and does so with the support of guests Sha Stimuli, Ruste Juxx, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Reef the Lost Cauze, Punchline, Nutso, and Ty Nitty, plus beats by up-and-comer Nickel Plated and Brutal Music's Stu Bangas. On the album's title cut, he even takes headshots at such rap icons as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Souljah Boy, and even Kanye West.

Just when you thought it was safe...