Milton Jerome Powell Jr. (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.

Biography

Milton Powell was born on November 29, 1974, in Houston, Texas. He attended Yates High School, where he played football and became close friends with George Floyd. Known via a variety of nicknames, including Big Poyo and Podina, Big Pokey burst onto 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. Big Pokey was featured on DJ Screw's mixtape "June 27th Freestyle" which became a landmark album in chopped and screwed hip hop. In early 1999, he made his solo debut with his first full-length album, Hardest Pit in the Litter. 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. Pokey was featured on Paul Wall's 2005 hit single "Sittin' Sidewayz" which peaked at #93 on US Billboard Hot 100.

Death

On June 17, 2023, Powell collapsed from a heart attack while performing at a bar in Beaumont, Texas. He was taken to a hospital in the city and died overnight on June 18, at the age of 48. An autopsy found that he had atherosclerosis and hypertensive heart disease.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes