You might not have heard of BLVCK POX but in the local hip-hop game in Reykjavík, he’s a strong contender. He’s one of the rappers that bubbled up on SoundCloud and social media during the first wave of Icelandic hip-hop which surfaced in the 2010s. He’s also one of the country’s top spitters when it comes to rapping in English, although he can code-switch effortlessly.
Power nap
Fans and followers might have noticed POX hasn’t been super active lately. The reason for that isn’t the whips and scorns of the rap scene but a more familial reason—his first baby.
“At the moment it’s not really possible for me to balance having a baby and doing music,” he says, with a smile. “I always want to make some stuff, but my kid wakes up in the night a lot, so sleep is the most important thing I can think of right now. When he finally does fall asleep I’m not really thinking of rushing to the studio. I’d rather take a power nap or plan the next day, because it’s always the same party around here!”
Still chillin’
There’s no need to worry about new material coming out though—when we called POX he was busy working on B-roll footage for music videos.
“The plan is to put out three videos soon with short intervals in between. I’m very hesitant to talk about my first full length project because I’ve slipped in interviews before by announcing it and then ten months later I’m like ‘I’m still chillin.’”
The videos are shot by his girlfriend and baby mama, Stella Björt Bergmann Gunnarsdóttir, the fashion editor of NUDE Magazine. “It’s a common interest for us,” says POX. “We’re both really thinking about the big picture in terms of how everything looks and sounds. We have very similar ideas and we definitely share a vision.”
Growing pains
POX’s background when it comes to rap is quite interesting. He started rapping in the 10th grade, as a solitary practice, and never told anyone about it until years later. “It was a very closed-off thing for me,” he says. “I didn’t tell anyone until years later in high school. That was quite a bombshell for my friends, but they took it well. No one thought I had any kind of musical output.”
His mother is from South Korea but she went to school in the U.S. before finally settling in Iceland. “She took all that influence with her because she was very big on hip-hop out there;” he says. “I kind of learned about it from her. She’s always been a cool chick, wearing tracksuits and stuff.”
Finally, BLVCK POX tells us not to fret about his diminished output. “I know I have a small but great fanbase, so it’s annoying not being able to work on music as much as I want, not only because of the baby, just because there’s a lot going on in my life anyway. But I will return!”
Check out BLVCK POX at soundcloud.com/blvckpox
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