NLE Choppa is giving out flowers to everyone that inspires him, including himself. The Memphis rapper is looking for a fresh start in all areas of his life. Whether it is his physical health thanks to herbology, spiritual well-being, or community involvement seen in him organizing a peaceful protest in his hometown, NLE Choppa is taking take ownership of himself.
His latest Tay Keith-produced single, “23,” off his upcoming project Cottonwood 2 is the result of this work. The rapper stopped by our studios to share the behind-the-scenes of the song’s accompanying video.
“I named the song ’23’ because I felt the year of 2023 was a [Michael] Jordan year. This year might make the goats. This year might make people that are not the goats,” said Choppa.
The video, co-directed by the rapper and Water Wippin Evan, as Choppa shares, was filmed over the course of two days, starting in Los Angeles and then ending in Memphis on the same block where it all began for him.
When asked by Uproxx’s Cherise Johnson what it was like to return to his hometown in the same place he filmed his breakout hit, “Shotta Flow,” Choppa said, “Man, it was beautiful. I got a lot of love too. There were a lot of kids running up to me,” before adding, “it’s really memory lane.”
That’s not the only reason the video holds an emotional significance to him. Parts of the video were filmed around the memorial services for the late rapper Big Scarr, who was a dear friend of his.
Watch NLE Choppa’s full behind-the-scenes breakdown of the “23” video above.
Outside of his behind-the-scenes video breakdown, be sure to catch NLE Choppa’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “23.” Click here to watch it now.
NLE Choppa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.