Return of the boom bap is a common statement these days in hip hop. Many of us miss the good ol’ pop of a snare and the base heavy grimey records of the past. So, unless you have a time machine, your gonna have to settle for dustin’ off your cassette deck or diggin’ in your vinyl crates because those days are long gone. We cant bring it back, all we can do is move it forward. One mc thats definitely a student of the tru skool is new jersey’s own, Universol aka Popp E Kokk. Armed with a new cd ‘The Kokky Mixtape’ Hosted by underground resident dj Bedtyme357, he is certainly ready to break out the turntable and mics and plug into the street posts and deliver a very missed artform as of late called hip hop music.

What’s good Universol? For those new to the name and music, give the readers some background.

Peace. My name is Uni V. Sol, but everyone knows me as Universol. I’m coming out of New Jersey by way of Virginia. I’ve been putting out music independently since ’99 off and on. In 2004 I formed the independent company, RadioWreck, with my brother Rob Young and have been dropping material non stop ever since. From that point up until now we have received some recognition from Justo Mixtape Awards, Underground Music Awards, and Hot 97’s DJ Envy. We are now getting ready to put out our 6th release, www.KILLAHPRODUCKT.com

You’re def a true hip hop head and a fan of the 80’s and 90’s, when did hip hop first grab your attention and who were some of your musical influences that helped shape your style?

I first gravitated to Hip Hop in Germany. I was still really small then, but I used to stay singing and dancing to Michael Jackson. Then Breakin’ came out. I remember our dad had a record that said Breakin’ and inside the sleeves were instructions to some dance moves. That was crazy because I didn’t understand what it was but I knew it was funky and I had to learn the moves. When we finally got back to the states, I found a tape of his in a suitcase where he kept all the tapes. It had “The Message” and “Planet Rock” on it. When I heard that, I was hooked. I still didn’t understand what it was, but I knew it was for me. At that time, our dad was playing a lot of Rick James, Bootsy, Parliament, Nile Rodgers, Gap Band, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, just a lot of funk. As I started to get older and understand what Hip Hop was, 2 Live Crew, Nice and Smooth, Run-Dmc, X-Clan, Special Ed, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and LL Cool J were part of my early influences. That and a lot of reggae music. When I got a little bit older and Hip Hop evolved to what everyone calls the Golden Era, I listened to a lot of Ice Cube, Geto Boys, Kool G Rap and then it was Tupac, Black Moon, Smif n Wessun, Heltah Skeltah, Outkast, Nas, Biggie, and Jay-Z. There were so many different styles to Hip Hop, that you just get influenced by it all. Everything was so fresh and new, it was like every time you heard someone come out, you wanted to learn that style.

Rumors have it that you used to be heavy into battling, how does one prepare mentally for a battle and what did that do for your career as an emcee?

I never really prepared for a battle. Back then it was all in fun, so you would be hanging out and mugs would just start getting on each other. Instead of just cracking on each other, a lot of us would turn the jokes into rap form. So somebody might get you one day, but you lived on the same block, had to ride the same bus, go to the same school, eventually you would have to see them in battle. Sometimes mugs would get there feelings crushed and want to fight, but for the most part it was all about fun. No money on the line, no egos, no trophies. It was just being able to say I’m better than you for that moment. As far as what it did for my career, it taught me to be witty. It taught me to think on my toes. It taught me to always play to win, but don’t take it so hard if you lose. It also taught me to practice, so you can stay sharp.

You started a showcase called ‘Hub City Hip Hop’ in NJ a few years back, how has coordinating these events helped your exposure level and taken your project to the next level?

It’s ill because starting Hub City Hip Hop was about getting artists that weren’t sure where to start a platform and exposure to people that never heard of them. In the process, I was exposing myself to big groups of people and growing my fan base without even trying. I would never rap at Hub City Hip Hop because I didn’t want to take shine away from the people I was trying to help, but as one of the organizers and the host I had a lot to say to the people participating. I would show people how to network, hold a mic, perform to a crowd and not at the crowd. A lot of mugs would look at me like “what makes you so valid”. I guess they started to check my background and see I wasn’t just blowing smoke, so people would start being interested into I was working on. I was able to work “Concrete Music” on a street level through Hub City Hip Hop. Hub City Hip Hop opened a lot doors for me for shows, hosting, college radio and just really branding myself, my company, and what it is I do. The craziest part about it was I started Hub City Hip Hop when I had downtime and it actually kept me even busier than when I was pushing my project.

No stranger to recognition, you have been nominated 2 years in a row (2008 and 2007) for being the ‘Most Original Male’ artist at the Underground Music Awards, how did it feel to be identified as ‘Most original’ and what is it about Universol that warrants that title and nomination?

It felt good. I always work to keep my music original and authentic whether people accept it or not. At the end of the day, at least I know I did that. I made a conscious effort to make my music that way. To be nominated for “Most Original Male Artist” was like, wow, because you always want to stand out. The nominations come out and it’s like Universol nominated for “Most Original Artist”. It’s not “Best Album of the Year”, “Best Lyricist”, and not even “Best Rapper”. Don’t get me wrong I would like all that, but it let me know that what I was doing was standing out regardless. They understood I was creating art. The people might not understand what I’m doing now because it’s not what they hear all the time, but I believe eventually they will catch on. So for me, I’m just going to keep making that original art.

In 2008 you were also nominated at the prestigious ‘Justo Awards’ for Street Album of The Year for ‘Concrete Music’, with all these mixtapes out here they found yours to be worthy of this award, what was going through your mind at that time? What has that done for your overall buzz?

That was dope, because we said what we wanted to do with that project and accomplished it. I went in and said I’m going to make a Street LP with all original beats, actual songs, packaged like a mixtape, and hustle it in the street. This was before the “Street Album of The Year” category even came out. Two years after I originally started moving “Concrete Music”, it got nominated for “Street Album of the Year”, which let me know we were on the right track. I didn’t win, but it was cool to be recognized on a national level. It basically, just gave me more credibility as far as music making goes and the drive to put something together that will tilt the world on its axis.

You recently signed a ringtone deal with Thumbplay.com, however your not the typical ‘ringtone; rapper, what has this done for you in terms of adjusting to today’s industry climate and income generation?

It’s just another revenue stream. Real music can be ringtones too.

You just started a mixtape series with DJ Bedtyme357 (Remy Ma’s DJ) to expose your alter ego’s Pop E. Kokk, what should the people expect out of this series and how does it differ from ‘Concrete Music’

They should expect a lot of fun slick talk. I’m still doing a lot of storytelling but I’m making the transition from people just knowing me as Universol, to people feeling out the whole Kokky style I’m bringing. So the beginning of the series you will hear some older stuff just to get people familiar with my previous work, because there are plenty of people that still don’t know who I am. I want to get people familiar with Universol, then ease them into the whole Pop E. Kokk aka Johnny Velvet thing. You will hear a lot of music women can vibe to and dudes can relate to. Pop E. Kokk is like that rooster off the Looney Tunes, “Frankie”, but more of a Hip Hop version. If you know the cartoon I’m talking about, you know he’s real smooth when it comes to women. He makes the chicks pass out. Pop E. Kokk is just a Kokky dude, so people will hear a lot of that Kokkiness. The project differs from “Concrete Music” because we went in hard with that project. I wanted to lighten the mood this time, to get more of a female audience at the shows. Where the Chicks go, the Kokks will follow.

What are you doing to stay relevant in a muddy hip hop environment at this time?

Right now we are working the single “Di Cok” through the clubs, keeping the mixtapes on the streets, and keeping constant content on the internet to keep that web presence going. I’ve been working with my DJ, DJ Stylus, to keep the live podcast sessions going. We call it “In Da Booth with DJ Stylus”. That’s just us doing the mixtape sh*t live and putting it out on our website www.KILLAHPRODUCKT.com and iTunes. It’s free and it’s fun. It also gives me an opportunity to drive traffic to the site, while helping to develop the careers of a couple of other artists I’m working with, God N E and Bigg Redd.

What else can we expect from Universol in 09?

A lot of dope music, a lot of live performances and a short film late 2009 early 2010.

Where can fans find you online?

Go to www.KILLAHPRODUCKT.com and you will find everything you need; all the music, all the info, all the shows, and all the links to sites that I mess with.

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