Milton Jerome Powell Jr.[1] (November 29, 1974 – 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.[2][3]
Known via a variety of nicknames, including Big Poyo and Podina, Big Pokey bursted into the Houston rap scene in the early 1990s as a member of his friend
DJ Screw's friend group-turned rap collective
Screwed Up Click.[5] Big Pokey was featured on DJ Screw's mixtape "June 27th Freestyle" which became a landmark album in
chopped and screwed hip hop.[6][7]
In early 1999, he made his solo debut with his first full-length album, Hardest Pit in the Litter.[8] 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.[9] Pokey was featured on
Paul Wall's 2005 hit single "
Sittin' Sidewayz" which peaked at #93 on US
Billboard Hot 100.[10]