What happens when Fresh Prince meets Beastie Boys meets Run DMC? You get the KoStarz! That's right, there isn't just one star to this show. K-Rich, YoungStarr, and R Dott are bringing back the essence of Hip Hop. Fun, fresh, and lyrical explains the talent. Labels such as DTP, Universal, Warner Bros, were once bidding on these guys all at once. A force to be reckoned with, KoStarz indeed will have you rewinding just to hear that punchline again and again.

Once all in the same group with Mikey Rocks from The Cool Kids, they still keep a good relationship with him. Co-signed by Lupe Fiasco, these guys have to be doing something right to gain his attention. Staying close to their Chicago roots, they also work with fellow Chicagoans L-Boogie, Circut, L-Peezy, Kimanie Black and AOK.

KoStarz has already established an international fan base from Chicago to even down under to Australia so get familiar if you aren't already!

Can you each introduce yourselves to the world?

K-Rich: I'm just a man who will always give you a well-crafted verse, along with a silky delivery. I also give an array of dating tips...[laughs]

YoungStarr: I'm that cool cat that everybody knows in the hood that's gonna keep it real. If there is something to be said, I'll definitely pinpoint that in my verse.

R Dott: Me, I'm more of the laid back one out of us. I maybe quiet for the most part but just know I'm thinking about something, whether it be a verse, a concept or something pertaining to music.

Take our readers back, who are KoStarz? How did you guys meet, how did the name KoStarz come about?

Well we're basically all brothers. YoungStarr and K-Rich have known each other since Kindergarten where they both attended school together. Yes, same table drinking weak chocolate milk. And since R Dott is K-Rich's brother, the 3 of us all grew up as sort of a crew. The KoStarz name itself stands for an equal amount of collective talent. We're all Jordans over here or Kobes or Lebrons. It's just equal. We flow well together and I feel like our fans should always expect the best from us. Music is more than just a job and something to get paid for, it's a creative skill, so you gotta be the best you can be at it!

You guys used to run by the name Klabo which consisted of a five member group, you three, Mikey Rocks of The Cool Kids, and Shorty-K. How was that and what happen for you guys to go separate ways?

It was cool. We use to get lots of girls back in the day, and we performed everywhere. We had back-up dancers and everything. We would walk around the Taste Of Chicago (music fest in Chicago) with a boom box playing our album and selling them for $5. We went our separate ways over a beat program dispute I believe...young and dumb.

Coming from the Windy City you got Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, Common...just to name a few. How was it like growing up in the chi and the music scene there?

Great man. There's really an array of talent out here. Wow you named some good dudes on that one. But the music scene out here has always been crazy. When we were at school during lunch time, 10 minutes before that bell rang you got to get that freestyle battle going with one of your friends pounding the beat on a table or even on State Street right outside Columbia College University Center you could get a good cipher in. It's some really good artists from Chicago that are on and many that are not but the love is all there and We respect our city. Believe that.

Speaking of Lupe Fiasco, he co-signed you guys. Who are some of you guys earliest influences? 

I mean they pretty much range from Jay-Z, Biggie, Tupac, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson...the list could be endless due to all the music we've listened to in our years of living. I feel everything you hear influences you one way or the other.

My favorite tracks by KoStarz are Punch Foo and Slap Ya Engineer. You guys have a Fresh Prince meets Beastie Boys meets Cool Kids feel. How would you guys describe your sound?

Oh yea.. mixing all three of those artists together in my head sounds great. We really appreciate the comparison. I see your favorite songs are our bangers for real! But we just try to give our tracks something that the entire universe could enjoy. A blend of easy listening tunes with smooth and innovative lyrical content.

Back when you guys were Klabo, Universal, DTP, Warner Bros., and a few other labels were throwing offers. Do you feel the music industry as change a lot since 2002?

Hell yeah, to be honest I feel like the music industry wasn't ready for us back then. It wasn't as accepting of new things as it is now. Just the same old shit for years. Everyone would tell us we were before our time back in the day. We didn't quite understand what they meant before, but now we do.

The Cool Kids... I see you guys have a song called Jet Black Jetta with Mikey Rocks, so you guys still have a relationship with him? How was it like to work with Mikey Rocks, and do you guys get compared to The Cool Kids a lot?

Working with Mikey of course is cool for us. It's just like old times, just a couple friends having fun and doing what they do best. As far as comparisons go, yeah we've heard that a few times, but our styles are significantly different. Both tight as hell though [laughs].

Biggest misconception?

Some don't understand that music should be pursue only if it's a passion you have. The passion should not have anything to do with the perks of stardom. Quality over everything!

WeMakeHit Records is under R Dott and K-Rich pops label Dreammaker Entertainment. Elaborate on that situation?

Our pops is holding us down right now. Chicago is very important to us, once we get to the position in our careers, when we can sign other talent and help others as we plan to. So as for as the label goes for now we are just trying to build it up with our brand.

What's in your iPod? How do you feel about today's state of Hip Hop?

On the iPod you can find our newest mixtape Phone Home Vol. 2, and a whole lot of beats that we are working on now. Blueprint 3, Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj is good, Wayne, Drake, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye, and Fabolous.

Who are you guys currently working with and who would you like to work with?

Well we're currently working on some underground projects. One of them is gonna be big but it's just something to allow us to advance our craft. Four of my good friends from the Chi such as Circut, Slot A, AOK, and Fess Grandiose been holding us down. In all honesty, we would love to work with anyone that's serious. But Lady Gaga is definitely somebody we want to work with in the future, Kanye, Lupe, Jigga, Eminem and many of the other great lyricists such as A Tribe Called Quest and Outkast. Also branding a business as big as Bad Boy!

VMA's...What is your guys input on the Kanye West and Lil Mama stunts?

Did y'all see Lady Gaga? That lady is a genius! As far as Kanye goes, I feel everyone has a right to say whatever they want. There are definitely right and wrong times to do stuff. We all know Kanye's point of view on speaking his mind also though and for Lil Mama she was just tryna to show support, just at the wrong time or place rather [laughs].

Any advice for up and coming MCs like yourselves? What can we look for in the near future, and how can our readers reach too you/ hear your music?

All future MCs...please try to be the best. And do something that's true to you, not something that you hear someone else doing just because it works for them does not mean it will work for you! Be true to your craft. As far as the future goes, expect to see us everywhere. Our goal is total saturation of the world. Everybody can reach out to us at www.myspace.com/KoStarz and www.twitter.com/KoStarzWeAre. We and our music is always there.

- By Catrell Moore