Memphis rap sensation NLE Choppa knows what he wants — and he boldly flaunts it on “I Like,” his new single out today via NLE Entertainment/Warner Records. The brash, unfiltered track is brimming with braggadocious bars and is accompanied by a suitably raucous, party-themed music video.
In the clip, NLE turns up at a debaucherous mansion party. Surrounded by beautiful women and covered in icy chains, he indulges in his well-earned luxuries like “cars that go vroom vroom,” “money that go ching-ching,” and “diamonds that go bling bling.” NLE is the life of the party, but he makes no apologies for enjoying the good life. “I Like” is the latest addition to the rapper’s robust 2022.
Last month, the hitmaker rolled out “Ice Spice (Munch)” and immediately went viral with the video amassing more than 1M views in 24 hours. Prior to that, NLE linked with 2Rare for the lighthearted “Do It Again,” where he proclaims, “Victim of love, won’t get me again.” That track followed September’s slower-paced “Little Miss,” which finds him in an empathetic state. As Rap Radar put it, “NLE Choppa gives the women a shoulder to lean on.”
That emotional depth was prevalent in March’s devastatingly vulnerable “The Gender Song,” a melodic tribute to his unborn son, and across January’s Me vs. Me. The 16-track project includes features from G Herbo, Moneybagg Yo, Polo G, and Young Thug, but NLE is never upstaged. “Jumpin” featuring Polo G and “Shotta Flow 6” each cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving him ten Hot 100 hits in his skyrocketing career.
Since topping Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart in a record-breaking 24 weeks in 2019, cracking the Billboard 200 albums chart with 2020’s Top Shotta, and earning a spot on last year’s Billboard 21 Under 21 list, NLE has established that he’s here to stay. “I Like” underlines the magnetic personality that made him a prominent and provocative voice at the forefront of hip-hop’s next generation.
ABOUT NLE CHOPPA:
Despite being just 20 years old, NLE Choppa, one of the most electric rappers of his generation, has worked hard to become a pillar of his community. So while there are plenty of numbers that could quantify his success—his 13 RIAA-certified plaques and more than 5 billion global streams—it’s possible he prefers another one: 26 million. That’s how many words the kids at one Memphis elementary school read this year as part of his Needs Learning Everyday challenge. Raised on the city’s East side, Choppa broke through in 2019 with the Platinum-certified “Shotta Flow,” a muscular blend of menace and sheer personality that became his trademark. Since then, he’s garnered acclaim from the New York Times, Forbes, GQ, and Billboard, among other outlets, including XXL, which put him on its 2020 Freshman list. Choppa’s is a unique cocktail of cutting-edge street rap with a pop sensibility, and he drops music at a breakneck pace. But this hardly means he’s stuck on the same ideas. As he’s continued to serve Memphis (see his This Can’t Be Vegan food company), his music dives into his past and psyche, growing more poised and thoughtful seemingly by the month. His latest project, Me Vs. Me, is his most richly detailed yet, tracing the tragic and triumphant arcs he’s seen around him from 21st-century Memphis back to Biblical times. While his serrated style might seem at odds with his open-heartedness off the mic, they are simply different embodiments of the same drive and lust for life.
