All the information you need about NLE Choppa
NLE Choppa went from being a Memphis high school student to a viral sensation in the blink of an eye.
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 1, 2002, as Bryson Potts. When he was a teenager at Cordova High School, he started freestyling and rapping with his friends for fun when he was 14. In 2018, when he was 15, he started his rap career for real.
NLE Choppa is one of the most exciting new rappers of 2019, thanks to songs like "Camelot" and "Shotta Flow," which was his first big hit. Just on YouTube, his music videos have been watched hundreds of millions of times, and he's just getting started. Here are 12 quick things you need to know about NLE Choppa as he continues to rise.
He used to be called YNR Choppa.
When the Memphis rapper started out, he went by the name YNR Choppa. Before he changed his name to NLE Choppa, he went by this name when he put out his first single, "No Love Anthem," and his first mixtape, "No Love the Takeover." Choppa hasn't talked about his old stage name in interviews, so it's not clear what "YNR" stands for. However, he has said that "Choppa" was a nickname he got as a child.
In 2018, he got serious about making a living as a rapper.
Choppa has not always wanted to become a rapper. In fact, he didn't start taking his craft seriously until last year. Most of the time, Choppa thought of rap as something fun to do. After he realized he was good at what he did and had something to say, he finally decided to go for it. Choppa told XXL, "A year ago, I didn't do what I do now." "I was making recordings, but I guess the music wasn't very good. I guess I'm finally making music that people want to hear. I started to take it seriously when I realized I could do well with it."
"Shotta Flow" was his first number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
NLE Choppa put out a bunch of singles in 2018, but he didn't have his first hit until he dropped "Shotta Flow" in January 2019. Choppa leaked a clip of the song and a 3-minute video of him messing around on YouTube before releasing the single. It was his first Billboard Hot 100 song, and it reached No. 36 on the chart. In June 2019, the RIAA also said that the song was platinum. Later, Choppa put out a remix with Blueface that has already been watched over 90 million times on YouTube.
No Love Entertainment is what NLE stands for.
Choppa's stage name is "NLE," which stands for "No Love Entertainment." But the name is not just an acronym. It's about a movement that Choppa started with some of his friends and Memphis artists. During an interview with XXL in June 2019, he said, "It's pretty much a brand, all that." "I pretty much want to turn No Love Entertainment into a record label. Just make it big, a name everyone knows."
He reportedly turned down $3 million offers from major labels in order to work with UnitedMasters.
Choppa's single "Shotta Flow" and its follow-up "Shotta Flow 2" were both huge hits, which brought him national attention and made major labels like Republic, Interscope, and Caroline Records compete to sign him. The labels are said to have offered Choppa recording contracts worth millions of dollars, but after looking at each one, Choppa decided to turn them all down. Instead, he chose to sign a deal with UnitedMasters to sell his music.
Choppa told Billboard, "[UnitedMasters founder] Steve Stoute told me everything they could do. They trusted me, and I trusted them." "I own all my music, so it's just a better deal [than a label]. I want to have my own record label so I can start something from scratch. When I look back in 10 years, I want to be able to say, "I made something big."
Choppa turned down $3 million, which is a lot of money, but he doesn't feel bad about it.
Stevie Wonder gave him the best advice he's ever had.
It's not often that a legend gives advice to a new artist, but that's what happened to NLE Choppa. Someone says that Stevie Wonder met a Choppa at an event, and the Choppa gave him some advice that he still uses today. "He told me to keep working," the rapper said, remembering their short conversation. Choppa says that Wonder's words are the best advice he's ever been given, even though the token might not seem like much.
He loves reggae
Choppa doesn't only like rap music; he also likes reggae. In an interview with HipHopDX in February 2019, Choppa said that Bob Marley is his favorite reggae artist. He said, "He's the only person I really listen to." "Sometimes I listen to Shabba Ranks, but Bob Marley is my favorite."
He wants to help other people.
NLE says he is very interested in doing good things for other people. He says that one reason he got into the music business was to help people in Memphis and other places. He told HipHopDX, "I really just like to see people be the best they can be." "I feel like if I have a blessing, it's up to me to share it in any way I can with people who aren't as lucky as I am."
Choppa doesn't help people because he wants to be known. He says that knowing he did the right thing gives him the most happiness. "I just do it out of the goodness of my heart," he says. "There's not much of a reason. I just know that I feel good when I help someone and see that it made a difference. I know that a lot of people don't have it as good as some do. I just do it out of habit. I don't know who taught me how to do it, but I enjoy it a lot."
He wants to go to a college in Florida to study business.
NLE Choppa has said that he wasn't the most respectful student in school when he was younger, but he knows how important it is to go to college. Even though he has a busy schedule with touring, recording new music, and doing publicity, he has said he would like to go to college in Florida and major in business. He told HipHopDX, "I want to have the right skills and knowledge to be able to take care of what I built." "I'd like to be somewhere like Florida. It looks nice there."
From the start, his mother has been a big fan.
Choppa is lucky to have a family that cares about him. His mother, Angela Potts, is in charge of his fan club. She has been there for her son ever since he first said he wanted to be a rapper. She became Choppa's manager, and when record companies started showing interest in him, she helped him look over each contract. She also helps with music events and video shoots.
During the first episode of The Rise of NLE Choppa, Potts talked about her role in Choppa's career. She said, "I just want to be a part of whatever makes him happy, because this is his dream. This is his goal, and whatever else he wants to do, I just want to be able to help him do it. He is the focus. It's about what he wants to do, because this is his life and his job."
A short time in a youth prison helped him change his life.
In interviews, Choppa has been very honest about his hard past. He has said that his choices as a child got him into a lot of trouble. But the time he spent in a youth detention center was a turning point. It's not clear why he went to jail, but Choppa says that his time there made him want to change his life. "That really helped me a lot when I went to juvenile," he said in the second episode of The Rise of NLE Choppa. "I didn't know how much I'd have to give up if I were to mess around and get a life sentence."
When he thought about what would happen if he went to jail, he decided that wasn't the way he wanted to go. "You're on stage, putting on rocking shows, hooking up with women every night, and then you get arrested the next day," he said. "You have to eat when they tell you to in the cell. No one goes to jail. It opened my eyes."