Memphis rapper NLE Choppa announced that he’s making a 180-degree artistic turn by no longer rapping about violence. The 17-year-old tweeted about his new musical approach on Saturday, Sept. 5.
“Ion Rap Bout Violence Nomo,” wrote Choppa. “If You Hear It From Me It’s A Old Song. I Wanna Spread Positivity And Wake People Up. I’ll Still Drop Them For Y’all Tho But Just Know I’m On To Better I’m Tryna grow I Got More To Talk about Now.”
Born Bryson Potts, Choppa began making a name for himself after releasing his 2018 mixtape “No Love the Takeover” and got even bigger after dropping his “Cottonwood” EP the following year. He also scored his first Billboard appearance with his 2019 single “Shotta Flow,” and his music videos currently get millions of streams.
Choppa’s brand of music consists of high-energy, in-your-face raps that contain vivid images of what he would do to an adversary if a problem arose.
Additionally, his rap moniker is taken from the slang term “Choppa,” used to describe an automatic gun that because of its rapid-fire capability sounds like a chopper or helicopter.
“Slide on that boy, we ride in the night / I don’t care the circumstance, he dying tonight,” Choppa rapped on his single “Top Shotta Flow,” off his newly released album “Top Shotta.”
“So I gave him that lil’ dirty tool, he say he finish dude / Say he caught him slippin,’ got the clip and knocked him out his shoes / Mama’s cryin’, n—–s dyin’, p—y, that’s what shottas do,” he rapped on another song called “Murda Talk.”
After the teenager told his fans about giving up violent lyrics, many said that they liked the idea, while others didn’t seem so enthused about it.
“I like this typa NLE 👏🏾,” one person wrote.
“I don’t,” wrote another.
“Proud of you,” a third comment read.
While a fourth fan who seemed concerned wrote, “Still make them hype songs tho right?”
Violent images have been used in rap lyrics pretty much since hip-hop’s inception, with some rappers being accused of glorifying violence, while others have gotten credit for properly documenting what they see in their communities and the world.
On the same day that Choppa told his fans about changing his musical style, he posted a song snippet to give them an example of what to expect.
“Change your vibrations, then you change your life / Speaking affirmations to the moonlight … Meditation is key it’s going to be alright / You say you lookin’ for some peace, you just gotta breathe right / Everything you need is within yourself just realize / Kings and Queens that’s why we matter, Black lives,” he raps.
Along with Choppa’s new rap approach, he started a new YouTube channel called “Awakened Choppa,” where he shows his interest in planting vegetables, making ginger tea, and meditating.
