iHipHop Interview- Chopper: The Saga Continues…

For well over a decade now, reality shows have become all the rage. Those guilty little pleasures that no one wants to fess-up to, just like admitting your secret bizarre crush on celebrities like Seth Rogan or LA Ink’s Kat Von D.

Nonetheless, reality shows have a revolving door that can sometimes land their stars who began with 15 minutes of fame an infinite time session, or ultimately place them on another show appropriately titled, “Where Are They Now?”

As for Rodney “Chopper” Hill (also known as Young City) the “Where Are They Now?” segment is one that he’s trying to keep off his resume.

The former Making The Band associate has come to grips with the realization of his fame spawning from Diddy’s pet project, but refuses to let that be the end of his career as an artist.

So with a new lease on life, and a second chance at stardom, the native of New Orleans who made it into so many living rooms back in 2003 returns to reassure the world that there are plenty more pages in his book worth turning…

iHipHop.com: Who were you a fan of when you were coming up?

Chopper: I liked Soulja Slim of course… Master P, [Lil] Wayne, Juvenile, Big L, Big Pun, Pimp C and Jay-Z… But my number one rapper was Nas, and that was about it to me…

iHipHop.com: So what have you been up to lately? Any new projects coming up?

Chopper: Right now I have a new song that’s about to kill the streets, and the world…

It’s called  ‘Swag On 100,’ and it’s going to be a good look for me this year… Besides that, I got all my mixtapes out on the streets, and all that stuff…

It’s going to be a great year, and I’m just blessed that I have another chance to go in and do what I have to do, even though I never really left…

To the people who haven’t seen me on TV, they don’t know what I’ve been doing; but I know what I’ve been doing—I’ve been getting me…

iHipHop.com: Speaking of how you never really left, have you found it difficult keeping your name in circulation?

Chopper: Not really because I just been in my own world… I had business to handle… I’m always going to be “Chopper” AKA “Young City,” but I had to handle a lot of law situations, and record business situations…

But now that I’m finally out of [those] contracts and that fact that I’m on probation now, I can be free to do what I have to do… The courts tried to keep me back, and put me in jail, but you can’t keep a good dawg down…

iHipHop.com: Speaking of contracts, I remember hearing something a while ago about you being affiliated with Cash Money, was that true?

Chopper: The thing with Cash Money could’ve been… But we didn’t have a good agreement on what we wanted to work out together; it was honestly more me though…

At the end of the day, it is what it is man… Shout-out to Baby and to all them boys out there representing New Orleans… I’m still on my way, but it was true though…

iHipHop.com: Obviously everyone knows your history from the Making The Band franchise, so did you ever feel like it was tough to gain validation as a real artist just because you got your start from reality TV?

Chopper: They can’t say that I’m not real, especially when I’m in these streets… At the end of the day, real recognize real, and you can’t say that I’m not real… For you to say that—you must be out your rabbit-ass f*cking mind; you know what I mean?

I’m from the streets, I’m not from the burbs; I’m from the ghetto… I’m from New Orleans, the murder capital… I get down how I get down… So for a n*gga to play with me like that—you might get beat down… [Chuckles] You know what I mean?

But I’m doing my thing right now because I’m Lambo’ed up, and hella iced out, and I’m different than the rest of Da Band members; I don’t even know what they’re doing… Shout-out to Fred, Babs, and Sarah, but I don’t know they’re doing and how they’re living…

All I know is that I that I never stopped living good, and once I got right—I was RIGHT! I ain’t going back to the bullsh*t… Now it’s about me, my family, and my company; M.O.E. Entertainment…

iHipHop.com: I also heard you’re in some type of feud with another former band mate, E. Ness. What’s going on with that?

Chopper: He’s irrelevant… He’s like the oxygen in the air that’s not even worth breathing… I don’t even want to talk about that; that’s not even worth it to me… Get money, that’s all I got to say… Get money…

I don’t believe in rap beef, that’s boring talk, I’m not doing that… If you have a problem with me, when you see me, holla at me…

iHipHop.com: How do you feel about your career to this point? Do you feel as if you’re better suited as a solo act, or are you still opened-minded to doing another group?

Chopper: I’m most DEFINITELY suited as a solo act! [Laughing]… Being in a band sucked because you had to play by other mothaf*ckas rules; f*ck that sh*t… I didn’t come into the game wanting to be in a group, I just came in trying to do my thing…

I didn’t know it was going to be on some Making The Band sh*t… But it ended up being some Making The Band sh*t, and I went through with it, because I didn’t have anything anyways… So I went for it, because I felt like I was talented enough to do it, which I WAS! So I did what I did because I felt like it…

At the end of the day, I’m a solo act, and that’s who I am… I’m Chopper Young City… I was Chopper Young City before people knew me from Making The Band… Ask about me in New Orleans, I’ve been doing my thing…

It’s just that I found my niche to get to where I needed to go, and now I got to do what I got to do, to be where I got to be… I’m a solo artist… I’m still doing shows, I’m out of the country doing shows, and I’m just doing me… One thing I’ve always been was a hustler and a survivor…

iHipHop.com: With that said, I take it that you don’t watch the current season of Making The Band?

Chopper: Nah man, I don’t pay attention to anything like that… Hopefully they just do their thing and learn what they need to learn… Only one or two people from each season of Making The Band is ever going to make it in the game, and that’s how I see it…

Out of the whole group, two people are going to actually make something of themselves… Congratulations to [them], and they’re doing their thing… But your solo career is where you put your foot down, not your group career… So I don’t pay attention to them, they can talk to me when they become solo…

iHipHop.com: If you had a chance to go back, would you do anything different?

Chopper: I like how everything turned out because on Making The Band, the most I ever had was a truck and a couple of cars… Now that I’m solo I have Lamborghinis and big-body Benz’s…

Plus I’m taking care of my family better… I wouldn’t start nothing over, I like how everything went, and how it’s going because I know the real people from the fake people now…

iHipHop.com: So how did you and Diddy ultimately fall off the same page?

Chopper: Diddy and I were never really on the wrong page with each other… The whole thing with Diddy was that I asked him to take care of my family… I’m on the road promoting and I’m doing my thing, and all I asked him to do is to help me out with my family, and I’d keep doing what I was doing…

Then he gave me his word that he was going to help me, but he didn’t help me… So I was like, “F*ck Bad Boy, and f*ck everything because I’m going to go and take care of my family.” So that’s exactly what I did… I couldn’t take care of everybody, but I did the most that I could do, and I’m back now… But that was the only fallout we had…

iHipHop.com: What life lessons did you take away from your Bad Boy experience?

Chopper: Honestly I learned to not turn anything down besides your collar, and that everything is meant to happen for a reason… Learn what you have to learn from the situation that you’re in, and learn from your experiences…

I learned how to stand for something… The glitz and the glamour is cool, but if you’re not making that currency to help your family and your people—than all that sh*t don’t matter…