Chops. Interview. Knocksteady. Do you really need to know anymore to get you to listen? The pioneering producer and former member of the Mountain Brothers gets real practical and honest in this interview as he talks about coming up, staying on the grind and what makes him tick as a musician and artist. If you’re a reader of this site, you don’t want to miss this interview!

In the following grainy clip you’ll see a little nugget from the long-gone VHS era. It’s a Nike ad from a campaign featuring some big names repping for their teams at the time. In this particular clip, Jason Williams from the Sacramento Kings (at the time – circa late 90s) does a little remix of Rapper’s Delight – only it’s not Williams. In fact, the voice you hear is none other than former Mountain Brothers member, Chops. Though he’s not nearly as active on the Mic today, he stays busy behind the boards and this serves as a reminder that the guy can rhyme when called upon.

The ironic part about all of this is the fact that Williams would go on to make some racist remarks in response to some heckling by a few Asian ticket holders. Well either way, it’s still an entertaining glimpse of over a decade ago.

Source: SHA

Is there an epic collaboration of Hip-Hop veterans in the works? According to twitter, it just may happen! Rapper Bambu and producer Chops have been exchanging tweets and it looks like all systems are a go, so let’s hope everything works out because we certainly can’t wait to hear the final product! Both artists have paved the way for Asian-Americans in Hip-Hop, so it only seems right for their paths to eventually cross. #BamChops

Mountain Brothers alum and accomplished Hip-Hop producer Chops likes to keep his talents on point and as a result never goes too long without dropping some kind of project. On this new mixtape he takes on the task of switching up a bunch of Lil Wayne tracks (most of which are remixes themselves) and has called the collection Sorry 4 Your Producers. You pick up the 10 track release as a free DL here and also have the option to stream and grab it via DatPiff as well. Check the widget below.

Well what makes this video especially news worthy is the fact that production was handled by none other than Chops. He speaks to NodFactor about the track and how it ended up in the hands of the SNL crew. You can catch the interview in full after the break or head on over to NodFactor. Props to Chops on the placement! You can get the single on iTunes & Amazon.

On Saturday those fools from Lonely Island dropped another viral gem with Nicki Minaj called “The Creep.” The sample-free backdrop for the hilarious stalker hand-book, monster mash was produced by beatsmith CHOPS.“It was the kind of thing where my manager sent them a gang of stuff and that one just clicked,” says the former member of Mountain Brothers who has laced beats for Bun B, Young Jeezy and Chamillionaire. “It really fits the topic of the song too. We knew that they picked the track but it wasn’t locked down that Nicki Minaj was gonna be on it til Wednesday.”

CHOPS, who uses a program called Nuendo to make his beats, says he’s been doing the TV music hustle for the past five years or so, but is no stranger to diversifying sources of income. Back in the day the Mountain Brothers won a radio contest for Power 99 in Philly where they recorded a Sprite commercial that was played nationally.

“There’s money in other avenues besides records,” he says. “Now that CDS are dying you really have to be creative and find different avenues if you want to make a living. It’s not all just album sales wise.”

His advice to new producers looking to get into TV is not to delete any beats. The beat for “Creep” was not the “newest track in the world” so you never know who will find interest in something you’ve created.

“I definitely feel fortunate. I’ve worked with people that are bigger, but they’ve never picked my joint to be the single. I’ve always had album cuts,” he says of Lonely Island, whose last single with Akon, “I just Had Sex,” has over 45 million views on Youtube. “We’ve talked about possibly more stuff with LI and of course I’d love to get some work in with Nicki Minaj. She’s one of the biggest out and not afraid to be herself and have fun with things.”

Hip-Hop producer Chops has dropped an unexpected new mixtape called Songs Your Girl Likes – and it’s exactly that, a set of remixes on some of the most popular Top 40 hits from the past year or so. You should recognize most of the songs, even if the instrumentals are now completely different. It’s actually a pretty cool tape and really shows Chop’s versatility across different genres. There are even remixes of FM’s “Like a G6″ & Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” on there. There are even a few original joints by Chops himself on there. It’s definitely worth the free DL for the novelty value alone, and all the more for the sheer musicality of it all. Besides, how can you not love the cover art! Get it from either Soundcloud or DatPiff or Hulkshare.

a-Tunes extends an enthusiastic congratulations to Chops. His music just played all night on prime time TV. He’s been paying his dues and he’s off to an amazing start in 2010. Well deserved!

Anyways, it’s about that time again… you know, for another Weekly Thursday Freebie. Continuing where we left off from last week, we got the 3rd and final free mixtape from Chops. This one has a pretty comprensive list of artists from all over the country. It’s a pretty packed release so this should help add to your music collection quite a bit.

Here’s the tracklist:

Bun B ft Lil Wayne, CHOPS – Damn Im Cold
Young Jeezy – National Anthem
Chamillionaire – We Breakin Up
Bun B – Keep It 100
Cowboy ft Young Buck, All Star – Flossin
Keak Da Sneak ft San Quinn, Bra Heff, CHOPS – I Get It In
San Quinn – Double Dose of Gangster
CHOPS & Kanye West – Live Ya Life
Chamillionaire – MM5 Intro
Kapone ft Lil Weavah, San Quinn – Here Comes Trouble
All City – Get Out My Way
Fabolous, Magno, Paul Cain – Smokin n Sippin
San Quinn ft Mistah Fab, CHOPS, Too Short – Devoted
The Game ft Ice Cube, WC, E-40, Crooked I, Paul Wall, Chingy, Lil Rob, Techniec – Lowrider
Lil Weavah ft CHOPS – My Rims
Keak Da Sneak & San Quinn ft CHOPS – The Streets Dont Lie
Sway – Stereo
Johnny Spanish – Shining
CHOPS – In Love With Your Momma
DJ Clue, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Bun B – Grill and Woman
Keak Da Sneak & San Quinn ft CHOPS – Welcome To Scokland

Link after the jump!

Get it HERE!

I’m a little tight on time (and energy) today so I’m bringing you a quick Weekly Thursday Freebie this time. But that doesn’t make this offering weak in fact it’s a must DL for any hip-hop fan. As previously announced, producer extraordinaire Chops has dropped his 2nd out of 3 free mixtapes for download today. It’s a remix album of various artists and shouldn’t be slept on. It just goes to show Chops’ versatility behind the boards. This man’s got the golden touch. He can flip any style. There’s a lot of southern flavor in this one but I think you can find a little bit for everyone.

Tracklisting:

1. CHOPS remix Drake Kanye West Lil Wayne Eminem – Forever
2. CHOPS remix Eminem – Jimmy Crack Corn
3. CHOPS remix 50 Cent f Ne-Yo – Baby By Me
4. CHOPS remix Young Buck – Let Me In
5. CHOPS remix Akon f Styles P – Locked Up
6. CHOPS remix Jay-Z f Biggie – Brooklyns Finest
7. CHOPS remix Jay-Z – The Rulers Back
8. CHOPS remix Scarface – My Block
9. CHOPS remix SLAB f Bun B Paul Wall Z-Ro HAWK Mike D – Da Streets
10. CHOPS remix UGK – Belts To Match
11. CHOPS remix Devin The Dude – Anything
12. CHOPS remix Paul Wall – Sittin Sideways
13. CHOPS remix Birdman f Lil Wayne – Shine On
14. CHOPS remix Young Dro – Shoulder Lean
15. CHOPS remix D4L – Laffy Taffy
16. CHOPS remix Purple Ribbon All Stars f Big Boi – Kryptonite
17. CHOPS remix Outkast – Elevators

Link after the jump!

Get Best Remixes Vol. 2 HERE.