Interview: D-Chop

By Ben Banks

This week I had the opportunity to talk to a young MC named D-Chop. We’ve crossed paths a couple times at Chatt State and I’ve always admired how he’s proudly repped his faith throughout his music. I was able to catch him for a quick conversation about his life and his new project dropping soon.

Where are you from and what area do you feel like you rep?
D-Chop: I am from Alabama. I best represent Montgomery.

What/who first got you into music?
D-Chop: I grew up listening to all kinds of music with my sister and my friend from high school got me into rapping.

What role does your faith play into your music?
D-Chop: My lyrics typically focus on my faith in God and through my struggles and triumphs, I am victorious through Him. I am naturally extraverted but I open up when I get behind the mic.

Who are some of your current inspirations for making music?
D-Chop: I love hearing people’s stories and hearing different sermons from people. Also I try and take the challenges in my own life and put them in my songs and try and connect how God is central in every part of my life.

Tell me about your creative process
D-Chop: I usually just hear quotes or words through out the day and just jot them down in my notes on my phone. I usually build upon that and eventually start connecting it to parts of my life. Then once I work on the lyrics and the mood of it, I usually make my beat match the mood of the lyrics.

How do you balance making music within the rest of your life?
D-Chop: I usually wait until the weekends to work on music. My main focus is on graduating in 2019 from college.

What are some of your goals that you hope to accomplish within the music industry?
D-Chop: I want to be able to just let people hear my songs and hopefully bring people to Christ through it or encourage other believers. I hope one day after I get my degree in Sociology, to open up a studio for young people to express themselves through music.

What are some trends that you see happening in the music scene lately?
D-Chop: I really don’t keep up with to much going on in the music world but I can say that a lot of the artist who have meaningful lyrics are often not as famous as artist who don’t really have substance in their music.

What are some themes that you really focus on in your music?
D-Chop: God and my faith are usually the main focus but I also like to start tying in social and political issues into my music while still bringing them under the scope of the Gospel.

Who’s your main audience that you’re trying to reach?
D-Chop: I want to reach everyone who either is a Christian or people who are still trying to figure it all out.

What message are you trying to send to that audience?
D-Chop: That it’s ok to rap about Christ because no matter where you are at in life, God is present and working for you like He is for me. I want people to know that even though I am a Christian, I still struggle in a lot of areas, but I come back to the same conclusion that God is working all things for my good. Even when I can’t see it or feel it.

What struggles have you overcome working in music?
D-Chop: School, relationships, family, my own struggles have been obstacles at times.

What some good things that have come from being in the music scene?
D-Chop: I have been able to perform a lot on my college campus and the choir that I was a part of.

Best describe your brand/style.
D-Chop: Relaxed and open to expose my feelings

What other media (movies, shows, etc) influences or inspires you?
D-Chop: I love documentaries the most especially when they are about social issues.

Is there something that you’re really proud of?
D-Chop: Being able to graduate college this year and maturing more in my faith

Anything you want to plug or any shoutouts?
D-Chop: I have an EP that is dropping sometime in March 2019 called “Work in Progress”

Connect with D-Chop: