Hip Pops Interview
INTRODUCING HIP POPS..
A big part of The Little Homie is about connecting with parents and in turn helping them connect with their kids, so it was no surprise that when we came across Hip Pops, we knew we'd found our people.
We sat down with the guys to chat about Father's Day and why they started Hip Pops and the Popscast.
Tell us about Hip Pops and introduce yourselves.
The whole idea of the “The Hip Pops” came about when we noticed all the cool kid's stuff was marketed to the moms. If we saw one more ad with a mom in high heels pushing a stroller through Central Park, we would lose our shit. As an evolved and involved dad, we want to indulge in cool stuff too, and I feel like we are underrepresented in the parenting category. Being an elder millennial parent, roles are definitely different in modern day times, I don't feel as though what’s out there portrays us accurately. Also, we take pride in being dads, but we don’t take pride in being the dad who stopped caring about himself because we had kids. We believe in maintaining our fresh and still maintain who we’ve always been while being damn good parents! So, we took it upon ourselves to curate a little corner of the internet and give you content & products that we think depicts us Hip Pops the right way! A virtual man-cave where us dads can be men, talk hip hop in a barbershop way, and develop a community with the most important commonality - our kids and commitment to cool…
What role do you want Hip Pops to play in the community?
Both myself and Retro grew up being a part of Hip Hop and we are very much a part of and in the culture. Our main goal is to hopefully leave a legacy to our kids and keep Hip Hop music & culture alive. You hear a lot of stories with today’s hip hop artists not knowing it’s roots or even paying homage to the forefathers of Hip Hop, and our intent is to teach our kids why that’s important and give them insight to why we move the way we do as parents today.
Tell us about your upcoming Podcast, how will it be different from the blog?
Correction, the PopsCast…Our PopsCast is going to be a podcast where we immerse ourselves in hip hop from a dad’s perspective. We want to talk about the music, the style, sneakers, current events, etc and feature a guest dad on the show as well. We will cover light hearted topics, heavy topics, mental health, parenting life, work life etc.
A podcast platform created by two Hip Pops for pops of all ages and stages to share experiences, advice and managing this whole fatherhood thing. We tackle all topics including work/life balance, quality time to spend with your family, marriage, single dads, and our favorite topic, how to maintain your identity while still being a great dad!
The whole idea came from, what we felt was a void in the parental world. In our opinion, and many others, the dad role is somewhat muted and viewed as secondary. For me as an evolved and involved dad, it’s frustrating because everything is presented for & marketed to THE MOM! This isn’t a knock to moms, but more of a balanced approach is necessary. We want to have cool dad products and support the ever growing dad community. We align ourselves with dads who take pride in fatherhood and have a big voice and presence and insight! This is why we created the PopsCast. A platform for us to share our worlds and inspire a new regime of great fathers and leave our imprint for the next generations to come.
What is your favorite part about being a father?
Everything. Watching our children grow. We have kids in different stages, from preteen, to toddler to infant. Learning how to parent in those different stages is challenging, yet fun. The other fun part is being able to leave a legacy for our kids, we have a hand in grooming them to be the adults of the next generation.
What’s the most important thing you think you can teach your children?
Don’t be a drone, be respectful, be present, don’t be all video gamed out to where you can’t have an educated conversation with someone. Most things they forgive out along the way, but respect isn’t negotiable.
You are your own person, and that you don't need anyone or anything to validate you or make you whole.
What are your plans this Father's Day?
Hopefully SLEEP and gluttony.
What message do you have for all the fathers out there this Father’s Day?
Enjoy time with your family, enjoy OUR day when you have some downtime, check out The PopsCast Podcast on iTunes & Spotify. First episode is being released on Father’s Day!
Head to thehippops.com to read more about these incredible guys and follow their work.
