Thomas Louis Jones III (born February 12, 1980), better known by his stage name Big Pooh (or Rapper Big Pooh), is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, who, along with fellow rap artist

Phonte Phonte Lyshod Coleman, known mononymously as Phonte (born December 28, 1978), is an American rapper, singer, and producer. He is currently of the North Carolina hip-hop trio/duo Little Brother (revived in 2019 without producer 9th Wonder) and ...

, is a member of the acclaimed

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

hip hop group Little Brother. In addition to numerous records and EP's by Little Brother, Pooh released a solo album in 2005 entitled ''

Sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

'' to positive critical reception. He has been guest featured on numerous tracks by other artists. Big Pooh also appreciates basketball and has served as a guest writer on a basketball blog.

Biography

Big Pooh first got his break by Beni B of ABB Records. He had been pursued by most of the major labels for about a year. He ended up signing to Atlantic "because the independent label we were signed to, ABB felt Atlantic was the best route for them as well as us". His deal with Atlantic ended in 07. In January 2007, in response to the departure of Little Brother member, co-founder and main producer

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

entitled ''And Justus for All'', which was released free on the internet February 13, 2007, mixed by DJ Mick Boogie. In 2009, he released a new interim "street" album, ''The Delightful Bars'', with four slightly different versions of the album available, including one

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

exclusive "Candy Apple" edition which contains 13 tracks, each featuring different artwork showing a nude model sprinkled with candy.Tullis, Eric (2009)
Rapper Big Pooh's The Delightful Bars
", ''

Independent Weekly ''Indy Week'', formerly known as the ''Independent Weekly'' and originally the ''North Carolina Independent'', is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States, and distributed throughout the ...

'', 8 April 2009Lee, Frazia (2009)
Big Pooh ''Delightful Bars (North American Pie Version)''
" (review), '' Metro Spirit'', Issue #20.37 :: 04/08/2009 - 04/14/2009AbduSalaam, Ismael (2009)
Little Brother’s Big Pooh Preps New Solo Project
", Allhiphop.com, 19 March 2009 The video for the album's lead single, "The Comeback," features a kitchen scene with Pooh surrounded by women preparing ingredients, baking and packaging "Delightful Bars" candy bars. In January 2014, Pooh signed a two-album deal with independent label Mello Music Group- the record label that's also home to

Oddisee Amir Mohamed el Khalifa (born February 24, 1985), better known by his stage name Oddisee, is an American rapper and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is one third of rap trio Diamond District. He was also part of the Low Budget Crew. He is ...

and

Kenn Starr Kenn Starr (born Kenneth Jones) is an American rapper from Suffolk, Virginia, currently residing in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Starr is a member of the Low Budget Crew and also the duo Isaac Jones. His solo debut album, ''Starr Status'', ...

. The first release will be an album produced entirely by

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

producer

Nottz Dominick J. Lamb, (born February 21, 1977) better known by his stage name Nottz (or Nottz Raw), is an American hip hop record producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Bu ...

, while the second project will be an EP produced by the label's production roster. Pooh graduated from

South Lakes High School South Lakes High School is a public high school in Reston, Virginia, United States. The school serves grades 9-12 for the Fairfax County Public Schools. History South Lakes High School opened in 1978 with grades 7-10. Students in the first 10th-g ...

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...

in 1998.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (2005) * ''

The Delightful Bars ''The Delightful Bars'' is the second album by the North Carolina rapper Rapper Big Pooh. It was released for digital and retail versions on March 24, 2009, followed by other four versions, with different track lists and songs: "North American Pi ...

'' (2009) * ''Fat Boy Fresh Vol. 1: For Members Only'' (2011) * ''Dirty Pretty Things'' (2011) * ''Fat Boy Fresh Vol. 2: Est. 1980'' (2012) * ''Fat Boy Fresh Vol. 3: Happy Birthday, Thomas'' (2013) * ''Fat Boy Fresh Vol. 3.5'' (2013) * ''Trouble In the Neighborhood'' (2014) with Roc C * ''Words Paint Pictures'' (2015) with

Apollo Brown Erik Vincent Stephens (born June 20, 1980), better known professionally as Apollo Brown, is an American record producer from Detroit, Michigan, United States. He is a member of the hip hop group Ugly Heroes (alongside Red Pill and Verbal Kent) an ...

* ''Home Sweet Home'' (2015) with

* ''Everything 4 Sale'' (2016) * ''RPM'' (2018) * ''To Dream In Color'' (2022)

Mixtapes

* ''Rapper's Delight'' (2008) * ''The Purple Tape'' (2010)

With Little Brother

References

External links

Interview with ArtofRhyme.com

Cream Magazine interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Pooh African-American male rappers Living people 1980 births People from Reston, Virginia Southern hip hop musicians Rappers from Virginia Mello Music Group artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people