Kelvin Mercer

Posdnuos
File:Posdnuos2 (300dpi).jpg Mercer performing at the Fillmore in San Francisco, July 2009
Background information
Birth name	Kelvin Mercer
Also known as	Posdnuos Mercenary Plug One Sop Sound Plug Wonder Why
Born	(1969-08-17) August 17, 1969 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocalist
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Tommy Boy Sanctuary AOI
Associated acts	De La Soul
Website	www.spitkicker.com

Kelvin Mercer (born August 17, 1969, in The Bronx, New York) is a rapper, producer, and one-third of the hip hop trio De La Soul. He is known more famously by his alias Posdnuos, or simply Pos. He was born in the Bronx, New York and grew up in East Massapequa, New York.

Mercer and David Jude Jolicoeur were childhood friends. They met Vincent Mason in the early 1980s while attending Amityville High School in Long Island, New York. Mercer's father was a jazz fan.

As a member of De La Soul, Mercer is generally regarded as one of the most consistent and underrated MCs of all time. He has imparted 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".

Mercer is also known for his witty, double entendre-laden battle rhymes. "Fuck bein' hard, Posdnuos is complicated" from Buhloone Mindstate's "In the Woods". 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".

He is a member of the Spitkicker collective.

Cameos and Album appearances

Year	Album	Notes
1998	Propellerheads' Decksandrumsandrockandroll, on the track "360° (Oh Yeah?)"	With De La Soul
2002	Mint Royale's Dancehall Places and Pop Is..., on the track "Show Me"
2006	Oh No's Exodus into Unheard Rhythms, on the track "Smile a Lil Bit"
2007	LA Symphony's Unleashed, on the track "Universal"
2008	Jake One's White Van Music, on the track "Oh Really"	With Slug of Atmosphere
2009	Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip's re-release of Thou Shalt Always Kill
2011	Official remix of Mac Miller's song "Of The Soul"
2013	Wrekonize's The War Within, on the track "Church Road"
2015	Étienne de Crécy's Super Discount 3, on the track "WTF"	With Dave

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-da-noos". The name is the combination of the reversed words "Sop," meaning "leftover," and "Sound," a name Mercer 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. Mercer's title of Plug One would eventually evolve into Plug Wonder Why, which has been shortened to Plug Won.
• Mercenary – Derived from the last name, "Mercer". This name was given to him by DCQ, brother of Mos Def.
• P-Pain – Caricature of the rapper T-Pain. He uses this alias in the song Supervillainz by DOOM.