Ten years ago, they were just a group of people having fun in New York's poetry clubs.

		Universes Where: Kelly Strayhorn Theater, East Liberty. When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets: $18; $15 students; 412-394-3353.

"We sort of kept performing around the scene and as our little ghetto celebrity grew, we just evolved into what we are now," says Steven Sapp, founding member of Universes.

The New York-based urban contemporary theatrical company is bringing "Slanguage" its fusion of poetry, theater, jazz, hip-hop politics, down-home blues and Spanish bolero to the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The performance is sponsored by The August Wilson Center for African American Culture and The Andy Warhol Museum.

While there are any number of performance troupes doing the performance poetry thing a la Def Poetry Jam, Sapp says Universes is unique in its approach and execution.

"Our work, I feel, is the perfect marriage of art and activism," Sapp said. "So sometimes to some people it seems like entertainment, but we actually say a whole lot of stuff."

The group addresses issues of poverty, family, drugs, racism and violence in its stage work.

In addition to Sapp, Universes comprises fellow founding members Mildred Ruiz and Gamal Abdel Chasten along with performer Ninja.

"We had ideas and thoughts and dreams about what we wanted to do to American theater if we had an opportunity," Sapp says of the troupe's beginnings in 1996.

Touting the versatility of Universes, Sapp explains that the group can perform at a poetry club, segue to a political rally and do a gig off-Broadway all in the same week. Reactions can vary depending upon the venue.

"We were just in a poetry venue [last week], and they immediately got it. They were whooping and hollering."

By contrast, the theater-going crowd is much more conservative, he says: "They're listening."

And some are blown away by the depth of talent, he says, because they thought the troupe was a bunch of street kids off the block.

While the group incorporates hip-hop as well as other forms of expression, Sapp says he fights that label.

"I think what the mainstream tends to put out is the not so educated, the fluff," Sapp says. What pop culture fails to realize is that hip-hop is "already very sophisticated with political aspirations and deep intellectuals having serious dialogue and writing books and courses being taught about it."

The down side of hip-hop, he says, is its focus on youth, and as is the case with nearly every aspect of youth-oriented culture, there's not much knowledge or room for what has come before.

For some, Universes became valid when the members performed on "Def Poetry Jam," Sapp says. For others it was when they were reviewed by The New York Times.

"After a while you just have to know what art you're trying to create and what is your vision and what is your mission and judge it for that."