We have lost another rap legend before his time. Thomas E. Pough better known as DJ Polo passed away of currently unknown causes. Shockingly little biographical information was collated before this news hit, but I found one source that wished him a happy 59th birthday on April 5th, 2020. If that’s accurate then Polo was only 63 years old at the time of his death.
Unfortunately part of the reason Polo’s history isn’t well recorded boils down to the fact he was the non-rapping half of Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo. Some deejays fare better than others when it comes to having their name and face get out there. Polo seldom did interviews and even when he did his partner G. Rap was always there, and if you were going to remember anything it was the charismatic and loquacious Nathaniel Thomas Wilson. Rap history is replete with duos that were called iconic in their time, but when that iconic duo breaks up, it’s almost always the emcee who goes on to bigger fame. Off the top of my head only Pete Rock fared better when he broke up with CL Smooth.
No matter how much Wilson ultimately overshadowed Pough, history should also remember that G. Rap’s rise to fame couldn’t have happened without him. The story has been told that G. Rap was in search of a DJ, and it was none other than Eric B. who introduced him to Polo, who was himself looking for an emcee to partner with. The team from Queens went straight to Mr. Magic and Marley Marl to record a demo and impressed them so much they were immediately put into the Juice Crew. There was some unintentional foreshadowing in them being put together given that Eric B. & Rakim would have an acrimonious split and Rakim rose to iconic status, while Eric is seldom discussed today.
Source: rapreviews
In other news – Nomfundo Moh speaks about how she deals with social media bullies
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