Four Fists

Four Fists is a duo consisting of P.O.S and Astronautalis, punk-inspired underground rap veterans who have found time between solo and numerous other side activities to record together. The MCs/producers debuted Four Fists with the brawling single “MMMMMHMMMMM” (2013) and have since connected for the unsparing album 6666 (2018). Stef Alexander, known as P.O.S, and Andy Bothwell, known as Astronautalis, crossed paths in 2004 and made an instant connection. They appeared on tracks by one another throughout the next several years and intended to develop a distinct collaborative outlet. In 2013, two years after Jacksonville, Florida native Bothwell relocated to Alexander’s Minneapolis, Minnesota home base, the two rapper/producers debuted Four Fists, taking their name from a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The single “MMMMMHMMMMM” was released that year through Doomtree, the label and collective co-founded by Alexander. Other artistic and personal commitments prevented them from building on that momentum, but they returned wiser and more defiant in 2018 with a Doomtree full-length, 6666. Doomtree associates Lazerbeak and Sims, along with Dutch producer/remixer Subp Yao, contributed to the hard-hitting recording. Its rebellious tone was set in the opening “Nobody’s Biz” with a quote from the Clash’s “White Riot,” while other tracks were named after that band’s Joe Strummer and the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious. ~ Andy Kellman