Biography:

Milton Powell (November 29, 1977 – June 18, 2023), better known by his stage name Big Pokey, was an American rapper from Houston, Texas. Big Pokey was associated with chopped and screwed music, and was one of the original members of the Screwed Up Click.^[1][2]

Career

Big Pokey began rapping with Houston producer DJ Screw in the early 1990s releasing songs on many of DJ Screw’s mixtapes. Big Pokey was featured on DJ Screw’s mixtape “June 27th Freestyle” which became a landmark album in chopped and screwed hip hop.^[3][4]

His first full-length album, Hardest Pit in the Litter, appeared in early 1999.^[5] The following year, Pokey returned with D-Game 2000, another album of mid-tempo 808-driven beats featuring several of his Houston peers as guests. In 2001, he collaborated with the Wreckshop Wolfpack for Tha Collabo and then returned in 2002 with another solo album, Da Sky’s Da Limit. In 2004, a clip of Pokey’s song “Who Dat Talkin Down” was featured in the pilot episode of HBO‘s Entourage.^[6] In 2005, Pokey was featured on Paul Wall‘s track “Sittin’ Sidewayz” which peaked at #93 on US Billboard Hot 100.^[7]

Death

On June 18, 2023, Powell collapsed while performing at a bar in Beaumont, Texas. He was unconscious and taken to a hospital, where he later died at age 45.^[8][9]

Credits: