Parco Lee, better known by his stage name POPP3DUP, is a young, independent rapper from Hong Kong, whose music is known to convey heartfelt and honest emotions, inspired by real experiences from his personal life. With inspiration from the likes of Juice WRLD and The Kid LAROI, POPP3DUP is making waves as an up-and-coming artist, establishing his own sound within the emo-rap and pop scene, with songs such as "bygones," "treat u like I," and his most recent single "know what urSad4." 

HALSUG recently spoke with POPP3DUP to dive deeper into the thoughts and process behind him as an artist, and his music.

Q: Who is POPP3DUP, and what is the meaning behind this stage name? 

POPP3DUP: My real name is Parco and all my friends call me Pops, a nickname that has been given to me since school. One day, when I decided to make music, the word POPP3DUP just came to my mind, so I made it my artist name and I haven't changed it since. I guess there isn't too much meaning behind the creation of the stage name, it just links in with my nickname a lot.

Q: Who/what inspired you to make music?

PU: As cliche as it sounds, I first started making music because of a heartbreak. I think everyone has their own kind of remedy for going through [a] heartbreak and I found out that mine was music. Music helps me express my feelings, and thoughts, and the best part of it all, it kills time, as we all know only time can heal and mend a broken heart. There's no better way to pass time other than by making your own music, crafting your own sound, and through it all you, as an artist, help listeners through their hard times, as well. 

Q: Which music genres and artists influence your musical style?

PU: I'd definitely say emo-rap, hyper pop, and pop are the main genres that I listen to which hugely influence the creation of my own music. My artist inspirations are Juice WRLD, The Kid LAROI, MGK (Machine Gun Kelly), and glaive. 

Q: For first-time listeners, what song would you recommend them to listen to and why?

PU: First-time listeners should listen to my single "I LUV U." I think this song is the most relatable to almost everyone out there; the bounciness and lyrics of the song will really connect with the audience. You can listen to this song on a good day and it'll make you feel good or you can listen to it on a sad day and it'll help you through it.

Q: Your music is known for telling emotional and heartfelt stories, mainly on the topic of breakups, with songs like those off of your 2022 EP WRONG FOR EACH OTHER and your latest single "know what u rSad4." How much of your music is based on real life events? And how does it feel to have your real life stories laid out so open and honest for the world to hear?

PU: All of my songs are based on my real-life personal experiences. I only write about my own feelings and nothing else. When I write my songs, I have one aim, and one aim only, and that is to convey and lay out my honest feelings. When I release a song, I don't think about what other people want to hear. I release what I'm going through and my own mental trauma; if people can relate with me then that's great because I am glad I can help someone through what they're going through or, at least, make them feel less lonely. But I will never release a song and write about something that's not true to me just because I want it to be relatable with more people. 

Q: What messages or meanings do you want listeners to take away from your songs?

PU: The main message is [that] love is a special and precious thing. Love takes honesty, loyalty, and communication to keep it alive. Heartbreak is something everyone is bound to go through and no matter what happens I will be there to help you through your lonely times and trauma. I want people to know that it's okay to feel what they’re feeling, you are not alone going through it. I'm a living example of someone who has been there multiple times, through the lowest of lows, and here I am presently being the best version of myself. 

Q: Do you have any goals or achievements that you hope to fulfill in the future?

PU: My biggest goal for the near future is to just grow my fanbase and be able to perform shows for them. There are quite a few artists out there with very unique sounds, which I love, and I hope to be able to collaborate with them sometime in the near future. By the end of this year, I hope I can make a song that will hit 50K streams on Spotify, as well. 

Q: What is next for you and your music?

PU: I think it's very important for me to continue to develop my own sound and to just be able to take my music to a higher level. I also want to work with bigger artists as I haven't really got many songs with features out here right now and that's something I definitely plan on changing. 

Thank you to POPP3DUP for taking the time to do this interview, providing HALSUG and his fans with such honest and open answers. Make sure to keep up to date with POPP3DUP,  and his upcoming activities, on Instagram, and don't forget to stream his music, available on Spotify and Apple Music, today.