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Up and Coming Artist
Coppa: from the bottom to the top
By Matt Barone
Back in 2002, the
mixtape scene was rapidly launching little-known rappers into the forefront of the hip-hop game. Names such as 50 Cent and Joe Budden were dominating
the streets with various freestyles while making bootlegs by the likes of Kay Slay and DJ Clue must-haves. One MC who never thought
his name would ever appeared alongside any of these artist was Newark native Coppa, but unlike many of these chart-topper
artist, Coppa’s debut album has yet to see a street date.
While his buzz rang heavy through his high school
and Ft Lauderdale Fl, Coppa’s exposure had been limited to endless mixtapes. In 2003 Coppa saw his future flirt with
potential success, with his Joining with his mentor label Get Knocked Entertainment in preparation for his official street
album, Hold me Down. Unfortunately, his story’s pages continued to turn for the worse, as problems with Get Knocked
Entertainment led to further delay for his Street album.
Possessing unique talent backed by confidence and focus, Coppa
continued to cement his Foundation family’s name into the minds of listeners with a stream of independently issued music. Now in 2004, Coppa’s career is at its most exciting
point, as he and Da Foundation have inked a deal with Tower Records. With Tower in his corner, Coppa is ready to finally capitalize
on his hype and prove to the world that he has next.
AllHipHop.com: You’ve been on the grind for awhile, with
little help behind you. So how does it feel to be a part of the Tower Records family right now?
Coppa: It feels good, man.
It feels good to have a strong label behind me that feels what I’m trying to do. It feels good to have somebody behind
you that feels the music and sees the vision, because at Get Knocked
Entertainment they were focusing on another artist Pluzwun and I felt everyone should be the main focus. They were headed
in a different direction then I wanted my career to go I wanted to get mines now instead of waiting that’s the type
of person I am. They make excellent music and the artist they were focusing on is my mentor. I try to bring music that’s
different and that nobody has done before. It might seem like the future and it might set a trend.
AllHipHop.com:
How did this deal between Da Foundation and Tower Records come about exactly?
Coppa:
My manager had me opening up for a lot of other artist and performing anywhere people would listen and they felt the music over there and understood the vision, and they actually
wanted to do the deal a couple of months earlier but I had to feel out the companys and see what was going on with there label
it wouldn’t have been the best move at the time. Plus, I was in a big bidding war at that point, so I was just feeling
out everybody. Tower eventually won the bidding war because they were talking big dollar talk. So. I’m the president
of Da Foundation but the CEO is my manager Buck and he had a relationship with Tower.
HipHop.com: You touched on this a little already, but why do you think
Get Knocked Entertainment wasn’t able to handle your project?
Coppa: They were focusing on another artist like I
said before. Pluzwun is a outstanding artist who knows the business and he was the main focus they wanted him to put Get Knocked
on the map.You know that in this business you got to be patient and I’m not that type of person so I felt that it would
be best if I did my own thing.Pluzwun is my Mentor everything I know he taught me as a matter of fact I watched and pretty
much copied his every move to get my label off the ground.I mean I got nothing but love and redpect for them over there
at Get Knocked and I would love to do a song with them for my album. Not only that put them down with Tower. Matter of fact
shout out to My nigga Pluzwun and the whole Knock Squad.
AllHipHop.com: So what’s going to happen to the Hold
Me Down album you recorded for Get Knocked?
Coppa: The album is still Hold me Down. I wrote a lot of tracks for y album
but I didn’t record that many tracks for the album, man. I’m just weeding through the songs and making sure everything
goes together. When I record the few tracks for the album , the theme was just me, my life, my struggles, and my introduction
to the world. Every song is basically from the same point of view. It’s going to be a cohesive album where everything
makes sense. So what I’m gonna do now is weed through the songs I got, and keep making more records with the Tower producers.
The tracks that Get Knocked has, I would love to have for this album or my mix tape I planning on put out before the album.
In the Slums and all that, are in the streets already and niggas love it.
AllHipHop.com: Can we expect any collaborations
with the Get Knocked artists to prepare for the album release?
Coppa: Yeah, I definitely would love to do some things. I don’t
know what yet. Pluzwun is my man and mentor, and I got mad joints that I did with him before he even blew up. Two of them
I want to put out on my mixtape. Along way to go, the songs “Everyday” and “’I Know you like my style”.
I like Supah Sean, he introduced me to Pluz and I did something with J. Miles and F.CashFlow already. I’m working, not
just withTower. Me and Smilez and Southstar is gonna do something, and I’m on Lil Scrappy’s mixtape. Me and crime
mob got music, and me and Stat Quo did like three joints. With Tower I know it’s gonna happen and radio is gonna love
me. I’m gonna make the radio one big-ass mixtape. It’s a wrap, man, and when I signed the deal I just started
laughing. I already know what’s about to happen. People are dick riders, and they wait for people to cosign on someone.
Now that Tower is fucking with Coppa, people are gonna want to listen. I do have a lot of fans that are die-hards and love
my music, though. Now, I get the mainstream’s ear, with the video and all of that. I’m gonna be in your face,
and the world has to deal with me now.
AllHiphop.com: When do you expect the official album to hit the streets?
Coppa:
It’s not ready now, but it won’t drop until probably the end of 2005 or beginning
of 2006. I don’t want to drop it yet, I want to have this country buzzing. I’m gonna put so much heat out on the
streets, that people will be waiting on the single. I’m gonna make them sick.
AllHipHop.com: Tower albums like
The Jump Off, Big Money, and Give It Up have been delayed heavily. Is that something that concerns you at all with Hold me
Down?
Coppa: I don’t concern myself with no other artist. I’m gonna make sure that everybody around the country
is so hyped about the album that it will have to be released. I want to be in demand. A lot of the time artists choose to
push their album back, so I don’t know what it happening with those albums. At one point I even told Tower to push my
shit back cuz I wanted more heat. I want to be highly anticipated, and if I’m not then that means something went wrong.
There will be so much heat on the streets that niggas will want to know what Coppa can do with an album.
AllHipHop.com:
What bigger plans do you have for Da Foundation now that Tower is behind it?
Coppa: I want to take my label to the top, man. I want to make niggas
feel like it is Da Foundation or it’s nothing. Roll with us or get rolled over. We doing a lot of big things. It’s
a movement by itself, and we are like 30 deep now but when it’s all said and done I want to be 10,000 deep throughout
the country. That’s why I call it “Da Foundation’s America”.
Me and Bush are gonna have to go 50/50 on this country. It was originally founded at Nova
High School by Me and another artist named Steel in 2001, It’s
not just your average rap label, it’s a real movement.
AllHipHop.com: Suga Black hosted
Look Out mixtape which is making heavy noise on the streets right now, so do you have any upcoming mixtapes that people
should look out for?
Coppa: We have one that were gonna get one of the hottest artist out right
now to host it's gonna be a surprise you got Cop it to Know who, and Suga Black has one with me hosting. DJ Splif and DJ Clap
have one with me, and Dj Blown has one coming out with me and Stat Quo, from Shady/Aftermath. Stat is a real nigga, man. He
came to one of Tower’s studios and we did those joints. Right now, my buzz is so crazy in ATL and many of the places
that I've performed but I want it so hot across America that everybody wants to do a fucking tape. I’m gonna
be in the all types of magazines, so I’m gonna be doing a lot of tapes. I’m also trying to get on some other tape
Dj Blue Steel, Dj S and S So only God knows what is coming out next.
AllHipHop.com: For all of the people that are still sleeping on Coppa, or
aren’t aware yet of what you are bringing to this rap game, what do you want to say?
Coppa: Man I just want to be
heard. I just want you to listen, and hopefully you can feel some of the struggles that I’ve been through. These kids
look up rappers like father figures, cuz most urban kids don’t have role models in their lives. Rappers dictate how
niggas act on the streets. Like a kid would be damned if they disappoint Jay-Z or Jadakiss, you feel me? I’m not trying
to be a role model, I’m just trying to express myself and hope that people can learn from the negative and benefit from
the positive. I got a lot of pain in my heart. Growing up, my first role model was an O.G. from the hood, who got his brains
blown out in front of me. I try and put all of that into my music. You don’t have to be from the hood to relate
to me, because I don’t know anybody that’s happy. If you are as fucked up as I am then hopefully you can relate
to what I say, and hopefully my music can get you through your day. So, my main concern is
for people to listen and for my stuff to be heard, cuz it’s real music. Oh yeah I got One site out right now https://coppa04.tripod.com/ go to it and support your boy
Nellyface@hotmail.com
Coppa_o4@yahoo.com
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