HOUSTON (AP) — Big Pokey, a popular Texas rapper and founding member of Houston pioneer group Screwed Up Click, died Sunday after performing at the Juneteenth. Pokey was born Milton Powell and was 48 years old.
Known for hits from Texas and the Gulf Coast like “Ball N’ Parlay,” “Who Dat Talking Down,” and a verse about DJ Screw’s nearly 36-minute iconic freestyle called “June 27th,” he collapsed while performing at Pour09’s bar and Nightlife district in Beaumont, about an hour east of Houston.
Videos quickly circulated on social media of the rapper, who starred in Megan Thee Stallion’s 2022 Southside Royalty Freestyle, taking a deep breath into his microphone before seemingly passing out and falling onto his back. Pokey’s death was confirmed to The Associated Press by its publicist La’Torria Lemon and Tom Gillam III, a Justice of the Peace in Jefferson County, where Powell was performing. Family and officials are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death.
Known by a number of nicknames including Big Poyo and Podina, Big Pokey rose to local prominence in the late ’90s as a founding member of Screwed Up Click, a fellow rap collective led by DJ Screw. The pioneering DJ pioneered the slow, lowered style of music known as “chopped and screwed” music, which would eventually become synonymous with Houston and whose mixtapes went viral throughout the southeastern United States.
The sound peaked in the mid-2000s when other popular Houston underground artists such as Lil’ Flip, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Chamillionaire and UGK signed nationwide distribution deals and brought the sound to mainstream attention.
Pokey released his debut album Hardest Pit in the Litter in 1999 and Da Game 2000 the following year. It was a pre-streaming era when music was regionalized and Houston’s most popular rappers could get rich without ever having to tour out of state or play on the radio.
Pokey grew up in south Houston, where he became a football star at Yates High School and formed a close friendship with George Floyd, the black man whose killing by Minneapolis police sparked global protests and a nationwide standoff over police brutality and racism .
“That was my brother. And to sit there and watch my brother die – the law killed my homeboy in front of the world. We watched him fight for his life until he was lifeless. That was torture. He died a horrible death and it hurts,” Pokey wrote in an editorial for the Chronicle published days after Floyd’s killing.
In the editorial, which called for police accountability, Pokey reflected on his time as a high school football player with “Big Floyd” and their enduring bond.
“He’s from Houston, Texas, Third Ward, and he was proud of it every day of his life until they took it,” he wrote. “He was somebody. He has a whole community that loves him.”
Pokey brought his athletic talents to junior collegiate football star Blinn and then to Abilene Christian University before focusing on his presenting skills.
Pokey is best known across the country for his performance on Paul Wall’s 2005 debut hit “Sittin’ Sidewayz.” The chorus was changed from Pokey’s verse to “27. Juni” in which he rhymed: “Sittin’ sideways, guys in a daze/on a Sunday night, I might bang me some Maze,” referring to the legendary soul band.
“June 27th” is considered arguably the most influential song by The Chopped & Screwed Cannon and one of the most important songs in Texas rap history. The sound is still prevalent today as Houston natives like Beyoncé and Travis Scott, as well as other big names like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and Bryson Tiller, incorporate wacky elements into their music. Hip-hop superstar Drake, an avid fan of Houston rap, paid tribute to the “27th June” with his song “November 18”.
Pokey also created other Texas classics dubbed “country rap songs” by the late Southern hip-hop icon Pimp C, such as “On Choppers,” and penned standout guest verses on Big Moe’s “Maan!” , a popular Texas version of Black Rob’s “Wow!”
His latest project was 2021’s ‘Sensei’, which refers to another of his nicknames and is billed as his comeback album.
Fans, friends, and collaborators took a deep toll on his death, and tributes poured in from the likes of Paul Wall, Slim Thug, his best friend Lil Keke, and Bun B, who called Powell “one of the most naturally talented artists” in Houston.
“He stopped, did what he had to do and headed home. One of the pillars of our city,” Bun B said on Instagram.
Powell is survived by a wife and three college-age children.
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Follow Associated Press journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all of his social media platforms.