The Midwest has always prided itself on being a Hip Hop melting pot. Diversity is definitely key in the Windy City. From the B-Boy hometown hero Common, to the braggadocios Louis Vuitton Don, the oral gymnastic extraordinaire Twista to the skateboarding bad kid turned good Chicago boasts the most diverse league of gentleman involved in Hip Hop.

As the new city men Cool Kids take off on a skyward journey, one person who has been diligently paying close attention to just what it takes to get that chance is 21 year-old Bullet aka Genius Jenkins.

Here, Bullet gives us his run down on money, the power of a name, how healthy competition is a pre-requisite for a balanced rapper and his debut project Back To Lyrics.

The Stigma Surrounding The Name: "My rap name ‘Bullet’ is a name I actually got before I started rapping. My homies at the Luther South High School, my school, gave me that name because of the shape of my head. My head was big back then. [Laughs] So anyhow when I started to take up rapping, I was trying to figure out a good name for myself people said that I should keep it as Bullet as that was what I was known by. So since freshman year of HS I have been called Bullet. It’s funny because people might expect my music to be about shooting, selling drugs, women and popping bottles in the clubs because of my name. But that is not the case. [Laughs] I am a weird guy, who goes to Columbia College here in Chicago and who loves Hip Hop. But I do listen to other types of music if Hip Hop isn’t doing it for me. I listen to bands and singers like Kenna, He Say She Say, The Carps, Janelle Monae and The Cool Kids. [click to read]. The thing is I make music that I like. My tracks are either sample heavy and soulful or heavy drums with dope melodies and catchy lyrics. Music is therapeutic so I write what I go through on a daily basis. Things like being late for class because I had a show the night before or feeling like an alien on earth. [Laughs] I have write about a bunch of things but I do keep the content straight forward and to the point."

Supporting Casts In Hip Hop: "I think for things to keep happening in a progressive way for Hip Hop as a genre, there needs to be more team work. One of the biggest things in Hip Hop was when we saw 50 Cent, Kanye West, T.I. and Jay all on stage at Madison Square Garden. That was a true Hip Hop moment. There needs to be more work happening between artists instead of people trying to beef with this person and that person. There are a lot of egos in Hip Hop, which you need to have to a certain degrees, as everyone needs to have some swag about them. But I still take the time out to listen to those that offer advice and guidance. For example, Inglish from The Cool Kids, he gives me advice every day and I listen to him a lot. I also listen to what Gemstones [click to read] from 1st & 15th says to me. I take this advice from these guys that are already situated and it only helps me and adds to the knowledge that I already possess. I am very humble I guess you could say when it comes to building and maintaining relationships as I appreciate what people have to say, plus I love to listen. My take on this is if these cats have got a situation they must be doing something right, so why not listen? If more people in the game thought like that I think Hip Hop would be so next level."

Competition In Hip-Hop: "Though it is good to listen to other people in the game, the competition factor still needs to exist. If you feel like you don’t have to compete the quality of records you put out will not be as great as those you might put out if you are trying to compete with other hot artists. For example, Kanye West said he was competing with Justin Timberlake, who had some seriously dope records. So for Kanye to compete he would have to match those records or come harder, which only makes for great music as he is trying to prove a point.

I think a lot of people who have got rich from this industry have become lazy, they feel they have conquered the game and their fan base is so loyal that they can afford to put out music that isn’t as good as their previous efforts but know that fans will still buy it. To me that is terrible. But this is the reason why I respect 50 Cent because he likes the competition and at the same time is being consistent with what works for him. People can hate on him all they want but almost every person he has gone up against, their careers have become invalid, not from a lyrical standpoint but because he was making dope records and being consistent every time."

On Back To The Lyrics: "Back to the Lyrics is the first album I have ever made. I have worked on it for about a year and a half. It was going to be a mixtape at first, but the way the material was coming out, we didn’t want to depreciate the value of the product. The title for the album actually came from one of my favorite emcee's songs. Lupe Fiasco has a joint called 'Failure' and in the beginning he says ‘Back to the lyrics, man, back to people like me.’ It was that part right there that always stuck out to me. Going from battle rapper to songwriter I have become very strict with myself when it comes to having dope lyrics. Even if I have to sneak in a few random punch lines to a single, Back to the Lyrics has songs for everyone. From the Hip Hop heads to the commercial audience, it’s a very diverse project thanks to my company Team RMG, which consists of Vanysh and Slot-A. They produced the bulk of this album with Rovion Mellow Madness (Joe Budden) and Christian Rich contributing to the project too. If you are looking for dope lines, dope songs and to have a good time listening, this is the album for your CD deck. I spent a lot of time making a dope first product, so hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it."

DX Breaks It Down: Diversity is something many a rapper wants to portray but few seldom do. Bullet has, from the sounds of his first album, given it his all in encouraging a universal sound. His consistency to maintain this will be undoubtedly watched by all as he embarks on his virgin voyage into Hip Hop's most promising galaxies.

To get more information on Bullet [click here].