Pooh-Man

Pooh-Man is known for his anger management issues. He had witnessed the murder of his close cousin Bruce, when his first album was about to be released. This had a huge impact on Pooh. He reportedly stated in an interview that he had lost his senses after witnessing the murder and wanted revenge, but his close friends pulled him back. He also stated he had decided to make more music to cope with the death of his cousin.

Pooh met Rena Thomas after his release from prison and married her in 2013.

Pooh-Man was born on January 25, 1971, in a black neighborhood in Oakland, California, where he spent his early days. His locality was infested with criminal elements, and Pooh himself was involved in a few petty crimes.

As he entered his teenage years, he started following the growing rage of gangsta rap and started rapping freestyle. Soon, he became famous in his neighborhood for his rapping skills.

By the age of 15, he had decided to take up music seriously and soon started working with his cousin on some serious music. They approached a studio run by Geno Blacknell, where they started recording music. Soon, he came out with an EP, ‘Out to the Bitches.’

Pooh and his cousin sold the EP on the streets and it soon became a party anthem. This boosted the confidence of the young musicians, and they decided that they needed to set bigger goals in their music career.

Somehow, Pooh constantly had trysts with the police, as he kept getting pulled into illegal activities. While in school, he loved poetry, and as he grew up, his desire to write poetry grew intense. Soon, he decided to quit all illegal activities and focused on making music instead.

By the time he finished high school, he had already started making his own music, with a little help from his cousin Blue and a local studio, which they could use for free. Pooh finished working on his first rap album, ‘Life of a Criminal,’ in 1990, and ‘Jive Records’ released it soon after. His lyrics were poetic and slightly biographical in nature, as they talked about his life in Oakland while he grew up.

The album was also highly explicit in lyrical content and adhered to every feature that made gangsta rap notorious. His lyrics frequently mentioned sex, murder, and money. Despite receiving negative feedback from critics, the album sold well and introduced Pooh to widespread fame.

His popularity went beyond the night parties and the club scene, after one of his songs, titled ‘Sex, Money, and Murder,’ was featured in the film ‘Juice.’

His second album, also presented by ‘Jive Records,’ was released in 1992 and was titled ‘Funky as I Wanna Be.’ This was also his only charting album. It surpassed the success of the first album, and featured other growing artists, such as Too Short, MC Breed, and Ant Banks. The risqué cover of the album was controversial, but Pooh went ahead with it and enjoyed overwhelming success.

His third album, titled ‘Judgement Day,’ was released in 1993, by a new record label, ‘Scarface.’ It received moderate success, and Pooh knew that he would have to bring some changes in his music, as times were changing fast and he was facing significant competition from young artists.