NLE Choppa Angel Pt. 1 interview for Fast X

Whether or not you’re a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise, chances are you have at least one of the hits from the franchise’s 20-plus year history on your playlists. From hip-hop and pop to reggaeton and rock, the music of the Fast Saga is eclectic and instantly iconic. Songs like Ludacris’ “Act a Fool” have been nominated for Grammys, while Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s emotional tribute to Paul Walker, “See You Again,” is the sixth most viewed music video of all time on YouTube with nearly six billion views.

The latest film in the series, Fast , Muni Long, JVKE and Kodak Black. The youngest artist on the track at just 20 years old (he wasn’t even born when the first film in the saga, The Fast and the Furious, premiered in 2001), Choppa is still the rising hip-hop star Memphis , TN, has surpassed 5.5 billion global streaming marks with its music just five years after its emergence on the scene.

Choppa has a unique understanding of what makes a Fast and Furious song a Fast and Furious hit. His track “Speed ​​It Up” was released on the “F9” soundtrack in 2021 and now marks “Angel Pt. 1” marked two significant milestones for the rapper: it’s the first time his song has been chosen as the lead single for a Fast and Furious movie, and it’s allowed him to collaborate with BTS’s K-pop royalty Jimin. “I knew what I was doing was going to lead to something big, but sometimes God doesn’t really let you know how big it’s going to be,” Choppa told POPSUGAR of this pivotal moment in his career.

Pre-read what NLE Choppa has to say about Angel Pt. 1″ had to say, including the qualities he thinks make the song fast and furious and what it was like making a song with Jimin.

POPSUGAR: What did the Fast and Furious franchise mean to you as a kid?

NLE Choppa: I was obviously a huge fan. Fast and Furious was one of those movies that I kind of grew up watching, so in the past I was just a part of that show. . . But a lead single making the rounds and being able to watch something from a young age and see it just come to your doorstep when you grow up – it’s like God foreseeing your future.

PS: Given that it contributed several songs to the Fast saga, what characteristics make a Fast and Furious song a Fast and Furious song?

Choppa: I feel like every song I’ve heard by the Fast and Furious – that they really stood behind, that they really stood by – is a song that represents triumph, a fight against the underdog. It represents something that motivates or overcomes something. And these are the best songs. It gives you the opportunity to get motivated. It gives you the opportunity to go to the gym. It gives you opportunity when the rent is due. you feel it And that’s what makes the best songs – when people can relate to it on every level.

To be able to work with just one of the guys from BTS – on the Fast and Furious soundtrack, something that big – I think it’s a beautiful thing and it’s one of the things I’ve been praying for. Every time you hear “BTS in my mouth” or “Jimin in my mouth,” there’s a thank you behind it.

P.S. In “Angel Pt. 1” you will collaborate with Jimin from BTS, Muni Long, JVKE and Kodak Black. Although the response to the song has been overwhelmingly positive, what’s your message to people who consider this line-up ‘random’?

Choppa: To be honest, I feel like it’s kind of random who’s in the song. But if you delete every name that’s in that song — like you delete my name, if you delete Kodak, you delete Jimin, Muni Long — and just release it as “Angel” and just leave that out, people will listen be a part of it and realize that everyone played a part in this song and contributed to it and made a great song. Sometimes you get a song with five strong artists and it sounds like a mashup, but everyone had their part on this song. It’s like a basketball team: everyone played well and just made the most beautiful song we can do.

PS You have 18 million followers on your social media accounts and billions of streams, but “Angel Pt. 1” introduces you to a whole new, equally passionate fan base in the BTS ARMY. What was Jimin’s fan reaction to Angel Pt. 1”?

Choppa: They loved it and one of the things I want to highlight is how grateful I am to be a part of it. I feel like a lot of hip-hop artists don’t realize how beautiful the K-pop scene is, but I’m one of the few who are grateful for it. Actually I’ve expressed a desire to work with BTS for a while and just to be able to work with one of the guys on BTS – on the Fast and Furious soundtrack, something that big – I think that’s a beautiful thing and that’s it also one of those things that I’ve been praying for. So every time you hear BTS in my mouth or Jimin in my mouth there will be a thank you behind it because I’m just grateful to know how big this scene is and grateful to know the huge impact they have on K-. Pop is in general.

PS: How is creating a song for a franchise as big as Fast and Furious different from creating your own music for your albums?

Choppa: Just knowing how aware you have to be of the song’s purity – not only to show the kind of artist you are as a person, but also to know that the whole world will hear it. So, [I asked myself,] “What about NLE Choppa? Do you want the whole world to take this song with you?” And that was easy [that] I could go to work and make a quality song that would speak to everyone and touch the world. My verse was mostly for people who are family oriented, people who want to triumph, people who put God first in their lives, and just things like that. I just knew the whole world was going to hear it and I just wanted to talk to them.

PS: What is your favorite Fast and Furious song (besides your own)?

Choppa: “We’ll see each other again” of course. You know, it’s one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time in the world. . . it says a lot. . . . At the end of the day, “See You Again” will always have its own weight. But I think that was the aim of Fast and Furious this year, to try to… . . Do something that gives you that same “see you again” feeling, and I feel like they succeeded.

PS How was it making the music video for Angel Pt. 1” to turn?

Choppa: Honestly, it’s one of the dumbest music videos I’ve ever been in. Everyone has their moment of stardom. Whatever part you watch, you see the star in it, you see the star in the person. And that’s what made this song so great overall: anyone could be a star in the song, and anyone was a star.

PS: Are you excited to see Angel Pt. 1″ for the first time on the big screen when “Fast X” premieres?

Choppa: I’m actually trying to do something where I take a lot of kids to the movies because I work with the schools and other things in my town. Take these kids who deserve to see a movie with me – that would be awesome.

“Angel Pt. 1 is now streaming on all major streamers and you can hear it in theaters when Fast X premieres on May 19th. NLE Choppa’s new album “Cottonwood 2” is now also streaming on all major streamers.

This interview has been edited and abridged for clarity.

Image source: YouTube user NLE Choppa