Th3rd Eye Wide Open | Kool Kim

INTERVIEW TERRELL “REALIFE”BLACK

Hailing from Staten Island, New York, Kool Kim—one-half of the iconic UMC’s—has been a defining voice in hip hop since the late ’80s. Long before Wu-Tang Clan made Staten Island a household name in hip hop, Kool Kim and his partner in rhyme were already breaking new ground, delivering sharp lyricism, infectious grooves, and a style all their own. From memorizing a Xeroxed copy of Rapper’s Delight as a young kid to becoming the first rap act from Staten Island to achieve a #1 single, Kool Kim has been shaped by hip hop’s golden era while continuing to evolve with the culture.

In this exclusive conversation with VALIDATED, Kool Kim reflects on the resurgence of veteran hip hop artists, the state of the music industry, and the challenge of staying relevant in a digital-driven, algorithm-heavy landscape. He shares insights into his latest project, Th3rd Eye, a record that blends his signature boom-bap roots with a fresh, contemporary sound. Beyond the music, he speaks candidly about balancing his dual identities as Kool Kim and NYOIL, the philosophy behind his lyrics, and his mission to keep hip hop authentic and alive for both longtime fans and a new generation of listeners.

From tales of mentorship, lyrical mastery, and creative freedom to his thoughts on the social responsibilities of hip hop veterans, this interview is a masterclass in perspective, passion, and staying true to the culture. Whether you’ve followed Kool Kim since the UMC’s era or are discovering him for the first time, his story is a reminder that real hip hop never fades—it only evolves.

VALIDATED: Coming from Staten Island, New York, what is your earliest memory of experiencing hip hop culture?

KOOL KIM: My earliest memory that I can recall is when my mother came home with a Xeroxed copy of the words to Rapper’s Delight. I took that with me everywhere. To me, it was like an ancient scroll of wisdom.

VALIDATED: Over the last few years, we’ve seen a strong resurgence of hip hop acts from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, with many veteran artists returning to the stage, releasing new music, and connecting with both old and new audiences. As someone who comes from that golden era of the culture, what are your thoughts on this renewed appreciation for those generations of hip hop, and how do you see it shaping the way the music and culture are remembered moving forward?

KOOL KIM: I think, like most things, there’s a point when it strays from the original product—too much corporate interference. Eventually, people want to return to the authentic sound, taste, and feel that they knew.

It’s also a matter of engaging the core Hip Hop audience. The demographic that built this music and culture into a billion-dollar industry is still alive and well, and it’s beginning to activate as an emerging force—when in truth, it had always been there.

The fact is, it’s been ignored by the corporate machine because they don’t know how to serve that demographic. And if we’re being completely honest, they don’t want to serve that demographic. They couldn’t sell us Black death, rape, misogyny, and drug addiction. They’d have to serve us meaningful music, because we came from that era. But that doesn’t serve their prison pipeline.

VALIDATED: What inspired you to create “Th3rd Eye” at this point in your career?

KOOL KIM: Well, for clarity, I’ve created an entire album of joints. I decided to release singles as opposed to dropping the full album. At this point, I’ve got a lot of work to do—earning the support of Hip Hoppers as well as mastering my version of “indie” music. Marketing in the digital algorithm age is a career unto itself.

So I picked a song that I thought could do well as an initial offering, with a producer I knew would add to the efforts to promote it. I’ve got a lot of work to do—earning the support of those who know me from the past, as well as those who don’t know me at all. And that’s peace.

I’ve got to be realistic here—I’m trying to make an impact at 54 years old. That’s crazy to even look at once you type it out. But yeah, fam, I’m out here doing the impossible. Ultimately, I’m doing it all for the love and for my own enjoyment. I really love rhyming, and thank God I can still do it as good—if not better—than I ever have.

VALIDATED: The record has a sharp, modern boom-bap feel—how did the collaboration with producer Party Crasha come together?

KOOL KIM: I’ve known Party Crasha for about ten years now. He’s always been supportive of the things I’ve done. We’ve been meaning to put in some work for some time, but the situations never fully came together.

He knew I was working on this album, The Eye of God, and called my wife to tattle on me (he thinks I don’t know) that I wouldn’t use any of his beats. (LOL)

I happened to visit ATL on some other business, and we came by to hang out for a bit. He played two joints I really liked—one of which was Th3rd Eye.

VALIDATED: The song deals with themes of clarity, duality, and perception. What does the “third eye” represent for you personally?

KOOL KIM: The chorus encapsulates my feelings—or better said, the feeling—that we all get when you’ve played fair, been honorable, treated people the way you want to be treated, yet still find yourself being treated like shit.

You know that feeling you get when someone is lying to you, defending the lie mad aggressive and heartfelt, not realizing that you actually know the truth—and you know they’re lying? That’s when your third eye is wide open, and you’ve had enough.

Even the “nice guy” gets tired of being nice—especially when he didn’t have to be nice to begin with.

VALIDATED: How do you balance your lyrical sharpness with making music that resonates with today’s hip hop audience?

KOOL KIM: I can’t really say that I do that. I listen to a little bit of everything, so I understand what’s going on. But ultimately, if I write something that sits well in the pocket, it should work.

People don’t understand why today’s rappers don’t rhyme (in general) as well as my generation, and yet they still gain success. It’s because their vocals hit a specific pocket. The pocket transcends lyrical prowess—it’s more about laying in the beat just right. It’s about a “bop.” Most cats are too caught up in ageism to lock into that fact. Their cadences and overall flow are in the pocket for the style of beats that are winning in this era.

It’s not hard to catch that pocket either—it’s just that cats are unwilling to. For my part, I just do what I think sounds good, and then I scale it back so people can understand what I’m saying. I don’t wanna rhyme over people’s heads. That’s why my #1MTD (1 Minute Takedowns) sound better lyrically than my singles. The general population ain’t gonna be able to keep up. In fact, in this day and age, they don’t wanna keep up. So I’m not gonna spit in the wind.

My wife told me, “Give the people what they want.”

VALIDATED: In the record, you mention the back-and-forth between Kool Kim and NYOIL. How do you personally navigate those two identities?

KOOL KIM: I don’t think NYOIL was a calling—it was a mission I was given. I did what was put in front of me to the best of my ability. But my job wasn’t to stay there.

We make that mistake in life often. You get assigned a mission by the universe, God, or whatever you believe in, and once the mission is over, you’re still lingering around when you’re supposed to keep it moving.

At this point in life, I feel like I’ve been given permission to enjoy my culture and enjoy rhyming without the weight of trying to save my community. And no one enjoys this shit more than Kool Kim.

VALIDATED: The name NYOIL has always carried a sense of mystery and weight to it. Can you break down for us what NYOIL actually stands for as an acronym, and also explain the deeper meaning or message behind choosing that name for yourself?

KOOL KIM: Well, NYOIL originally was an acronym for “New York’s Original International Lover.” It was my Black Voices handle. I used to write it in all caps with no spaces—NYORIGINALINTERNATIONALLOVER—back when writing in all caps made people feel like you were screaming at them. LOL.

I got popular fast back in those days, and folks started calling me NYOIL for short. When I first emerged as NYOIL, Haas and Fantom (the other half of the UMC’s) suggested I use that name.

The first two songs I made as NYOIL weren’t really about anything. I’ll stop short of saying they were outright wack, but yeah… they weren’t fully there. Then that spirit hit me, and when I knew what I was supposed to do, I became NYOIL for real.

So really, it doesn’t mean anything—it just became who I was.

VALIDATED: There’s a line—“One day he’s Kool Kim / Next day he wanna be NYOIL / Yo I think this brother’s BiPolar.” Is this commentary on yourself, or on how others perceive you?

KOOL KIM: Well, if I’m being frank, I gotta ask Party Crasha where he got that idea from. He did those vocals because he’s got a great voice—it was perfect for what I was doing.

So when he sent me the vocals, I was listening like, “Did this MF’er just call me bipolar on my own song??” LOL. But there might be some truth to that, if I wasn’t always both of those people.

I’ve been NYOIL since I’ve been Kool Kim. You can hear hints of it on the first UMC’s album, Fruits of Nature.

VALIDATED: Your lyrics are filled with vivid imagery like “meteors hitting planets” and “seeing things in bird’s eye.” How important is it for you to maintain that poetic, imaginative edge in hip hop?

KOOL KIM: I was blessed to have great mentors in the form of my older brother, who introduced me to the beauty of being articulate, and a wonderful English teacher in high school named Mrs. Thompson, who inspired me to write more creatively and not be lazy or cookie-cutter about it.

VALIDATED: Fans know you as part of The UMC’s with classics like “Blue Cheese” and “One to Grow On.” How does “Th3rd Eye” connect to that legacy?

KOOL KIM: I think if it connects at all, the connecting point is that it remains some “Me” shit. A lot of folks are jumping into the Alchemist lane right now—even legacy acts are doing a certain style of Boom Bap. I’m just doing shit I like.

Don’t get me wrong, I love what Alchemist is doing with Larry June, 2 Chainz, et al. I respect it highly and hope to work with him. I love that track “Details” he has with Larry. But at the same time, what’s the point in being me if I’m not gonna do some me shit, ya know?!

If there’s any other correlation, it’s sort of letting folks know that, yeah, I’m the cat from Blue Cheese… but I’m not that cat anymore, type shit.

VALIDATED: Would you say this new record is more in line with the fun, colorful Kool Kim—or the militant, unapologetic NYOIL?

KOOL KIM: I think I’m a mixture of about 70% Kool Kim and 30% NYOIL. NYOIL speaks to my very serious side—my Black empowered self and the revolutionary that burns in my soul. But ultimately, I’m rhyming because I enjoy it; that’s what’s driving me now. So I’d say that’s more Kool Kim’s lane.

VALIDATED: Looking back, how do you feel about being the first rap group from Staten Island to achieve a #1 single before Wu-Tang Clan broke through?

KOOL KIM: Honestly, that’s not something I’d even think of. I think a better question would be for Wu-Tang: How do they feel about breaking through after the UMC’s were the first to achieve a #1 single? The answer to that might be really interesting.

VALIDATED: What do you want listeners to take away from “Th3rd Eye”?

KOOL KIM: HIP HOP, bro! We’re rhyming again. It’s a great time to be alive if you’re a real Hip Hop head and not a casual.

See, casuals are gonna wait until something comes on the radio or everyone else is talking about it. HIPHOPPERS are going to search for dope Hip Hop because we’re into that shit. We don’t listen to fit in—we listen because this music fits into our lifestyle. We don’t mind looking for dope music because we’ve been doing that since 12 AM mix shows and pause tapes.

VALIDATED: You also released the instrumental—was that a deliberate choice to let DJs and emcees engage with the music in their own way?

KOOL KIM: Yeah, I want the music to live and do whatever it’s gonna do—including inspire other artists. I want DJs and other MCs to do their thing over that beat. It’s all Hip Hop, fam. We’re supposed to enjoy the music, not keep it hidden away.

Shit, come to think of it, I think I’m gonna do an open verse challenge and make it a posse cut just so I can hear some dope-ass rhymes on this shit. Hell, I’ll probably write a whole different verse myself. That’s how you get better, and that’s how we elevate the music as a collective.

I can’t stress it enough—I’m into HIP HOP, fam. I don’t care about a bunch of other shit. I wanna hear MF’ers rhyme and have fun.

VALIDATED: Is “Th3rd Eye” a standalone record, or part of a larger upcoming project?

KOOL KIM: It is a part of The Eye of God, an album I’ve been working on most of this year. As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t think it would be prudent to drop an album right now. I’ve gotta expand my reach first. I’d hate to put an album out and have it be over the same week I released it.

I’d rather drop songs on a monthly or bi-weekly interval than waste a whole album in this day and age. Right now, we’re in a high-consumption phase. Back in the day, a single would last like three months before they even considered rolling out a new one. Now, if people talk about your album for three weeks, you really did something. I think dropping singles makes it easier to pull people into your universe.

VALIDATED: What role do you see yourself playing in hip hop today—as a veteran voice, activist, or creative innovator?

KOOL KIM: I dunno, fam. It seems to me that people connect to others for a number of reasons. Just like one person can know you as a funny guy, the next person might think you’re quiet, and another might think you’re foul… you don’t have that much control over it.

I just really want folks to connect with me because I enjoy what I do, and that should be evident in how I represent myself—that I lean toward the positive as much as I can, and that I’m about this shit. If I inspire someone or come across as positive or uplifting, then thank God Almighty, and hopefully it’ll help me get into Heaven or whatever comes after this. But I can’t call it.

VALIDATED: Where can people find you online—whether on social media or your official website—and where can listeners go to hear your new single?

KOOL KIM: Listen / Download: www.koolkimumc.com. Connect with Kool Kim: Instagram – @koolkim_nyoil Twitter – @nyoil TikTok – @koolkimnyoil Genius – @koolkim Facebook – Kool Kim / NYOIL