Photo credit: Baz

LaRoyce Hawkins is an actor, comedian, poet, speaker, and musician best known for his role as Officer Kevin Atwater on NBC’s hit series Chicago P.D., a role he has held since 2013.

LaRoyce advocates for his beliefs through his art, taking his voice beyond the stage and screen.

A lifelong Hip-Hop fan and Chicago native, Hawkins has previously collaborated with The Hip Hop Museum on events related to entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

So, LaRoyce Hawkins, what does Hip Hop mean to you?

Adam Aziz: Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money?

LaRoyce Hawkins: The first album I bought with my own money was Common’s ‘Finding Forever.’ That album raised me. 

Growing up, one of my best friends was a huge Jay-Z fan, so he put me on to ‘The Blueprint.’ So, I’m a huge Jay-Z fan but ‘Finding Forever’ helped me really lock in. Common is a hero of mine from Chicago. I’m from Harvey, Illinois but him and Lupe Fiasco influenced me. Lupe’s ‘Food and Liquor.’ Those two albums, for me, are a very big deal. I knew all the words.

I remember driving to college in my Geo Tracker with ‘Food and Liquor’ on. It was a different feeling.

What’s interesting is that Lupe Fiasco went to my high school. He was older than me. I’ll never forget missing chemistry class because one day, Lupe pulled up and gave everybody $100 gift cards for Finish Line. I would also listen to the full ‘Food and Liquor’ album, and Lupe did all the thank yous at the end of the album, shouting out Mr. Starks, our chemistry teacher. 

AA: And growing up in the Chicago area, other than Lupe and Common, who are some other artists that stand out to you as an inspiration?

LH: My whole top five was out of Chicago for a while. Mount Rushmore – Kanye, Lupe, Common, Twista… it’s hard not to pay homage to those people, especially them being from Chicago. It’s hard not to mention Chance The Rapper at this point. What he’s done in the game is unprecedented, especially at that young age and with the flavor that connects to a younger generation. On a spiritual level, too. 

Kanye is also hard to deny – the textures he’s provided the whole world, not just Hip Hop but also fashion. 

Interestingly, when you’re a little homie, you listen to what your parents listen to. And my mom was a big fan of Prince and Shabba Ranks so I got those influences. But when she listened to Rap, it was Kurtis Blow. “The Breaks” were the first raps as a little homie that I understood and knew because that’s what my mom was about. It used to do something to me every time I saw my mom get excited when she heard that record. 

AA: I wanted to ask you about Spoken Word and how you got into that scene.

LH: My spoken word journey started in high school. I’m a stand-up comedian, and spoken word just kind of came with it. I started off writing poems for my high school girlfriend. By the time I got to college, I had become a bit more conscious and political and hadn’t written another love piece for a very long time.

Spoken word inherently is just in me. And I’m just now starting to embrace it. Because of the great influences from Chicago, being a big fan of Hip Hop, I thought I was rapping but always had a poetic approach. And over the past couple of years, I’ve embraced the poetic approach. I think like a poet, I listen like a poet. When I say listening like a poet, it’s similar to listening like a comedian. A comedian can always find the funny. And the poet can always find the depth. I listen to conversations sometimes, and I’m like, Oh, damn, that was deep. I need to write that down. 

Poetry has always been in me. What’s interesting is the last time I was in New York, I visited the Bronx to take notes and study the textures of Hip Hop. I did the event with The Hip Hop Museum in Chicago, and one of the producers asked me if I would write a piece. I took notes for my piece when I went to New York. However, the conversation that sparked my writing a piece was talking to Rocky, (co-founder of The Hip Hop Museum) about Hip Hop’s evolution and how it evolved from Disco and Funk. That’s how a poet listens, and in that moment of conversation, I asked if it would be safe to say Hip Hop is to music what the black woman is to the world.  In a way similar to Hip Hop, the black woman is extremely instrumental but also neglected. It is not necessarily the most respected, considering how instrumental she is. I think Hip Hop can claim the same thing in the music industry: nobody expects Hip Hop to be what it is and thrive the way it has.

That night in New York, I was picked up by my homie Eif Rivera, who is a big music video director and directed an episode of Chicago PD. I learned a lot from him about how harmonious the Bronx is, whether you’re black, Puerto Rican, or whatever. 

AA: And finally, what does Hip Hop mean to you?

LH: Hip Hop means culture in its most authentic form. It’s pure imagination. Hip Hop is in all of us. It’s like the most authentic part of our imagination. It’s a journey that will take you on a ride for real.

One of the dopest journeys or stories we can reference when we think about Hip Hop and what it can do is Jay-Z. His humble beginnings took him out of Marcy and into something amazing. World-changing and extremely influential. Who would have thought one day he would be able to handpick the performances at the Super Bowl? Who would have thought that his influence would take him there?

Hip Hop, for me, is pure imagination in its most authentic form, from the purest place. Follow LaRoyce Hawkins on Instagram.

Read more interviews on The Hip Hop Museum!