Worlds collide in the strangest of ways at times, but what comes from that is a special moment unable to be recreated. FNF Chop took some time out of his day to speak to me while he’s serving some time in VA and I heard a man speak his mind, unedited or filtered through the phone. The mood was somber at times, but I wanted to give him an opportunity to talk his shit from behind the wall. This conversation makes you appreciate your freedom, a refresher to those who take every breathe on the outside for granted. When Chop is released he’s going to be bigger and better than ever. His tenacity and focus possesses an unmatched energy you have to witness to understand. Shout to Chop and his team and to much more success in the future.
DC – Alright, bet. How we doing? I’m Brick from Daily Chiefers, thanks for taking the time. Just wanted to see what a day in the life for you on the inside is?
FNF – okay, okay
DC – You know, what’s the mindset? How you holding up? How is just knowing the world is kind of learning about your music and you’re not able to like touch the fans and really interact right now?
FNF- Okay, so, *inaudible* i just woke and start the day off around 2, 3,4 o’clock; depending on whenever i wake up. You know, and then same old, push ups, phone. Tab*, like video calls. I get video calls a couple times. That booth spot with the holes in it. With everything that’s going on, you know, it’s routine now. Because now, i just woke up like just now, and they’re just like, “cmon Chop, get up Hurry you gotta get up and get on the phone. Get on the phone!” I’m like goddam, you know?
DC – Haha I got you.
FNF – I’m not trying to be weird, you know? I’m trying to get to it now though, so. But, it’s all cool for real. Being out of town now, I’m not gonna lie, it becomes frustrating sometimes. Because, like, i like stuff to go a certain way and i like to be hands on where the people are. Handling everything that involves me, so when I’m not able to be just right there and able to… its hard to explain. You can do this, you can write that. You can feel everybody out, they can feel you out. They can know exactly how you feel about some stuff. Versus getting damn locked up, just like- okay, we gotta do whats best for him. I definitely appreciate everything *inaudible* even take the time to follow me and like my videos, and go watch my songs on Youtube. They don’t have to do it, they don’t have to do anything. They choose to do it and its amazing that much people is really listening to my songs. *inaudible* okay, I gotta make sure to get it right. Because, me knowing me, I’ve tried to make a TikTok before. It took about four tries, but five I go like, ‘fuck it. Im just gonna post the shit.’ So i know, I’m pretty sure a lot of people that made the *inaudible* for just trying to get that one right. So just to even go through that, just so you can post a video for this challenge and do it right; it’s just crazy, you know?
DC – When did you realize that ‘Walk Down’ was going viral? Is there a specific time where you were like, “damn, this shit is really going up”?
FNF – Like January. January 18th… 19th. We was on Instagram and somebody sent me. I couldn’t never see it. *inaudible* It had like 800 videos made *on tiktok*. I’m like, ‘shit, 800 videos made to my song while I’m locked up, and I made this song a minute ago; that’s a lot, you feel me? I kept checking the days, one day to the next day, it’s like 1.5k. Then it was like 2.7k. Then one day it jumped, it was like 2.7k to 4.9k, i was like, ‘shit bro. I start looking at the people that’s doing this. These mother fuckers had like 300k likes from this 2.4k likes. People was getting thousands of thousands of likes, thousands and thousands of views off. it just starts spiking.
DC – Right, real growth.
FNF- Next thing you know, labels started calling.
DC – As they will.
FNF – I got the first label hit me up. I was like, ‘whoa. Okay, that’s different.
DC – Are there people on the inside with you that kind recognize, “okay, this shit’s heating up.” Did you feel that change from people in a way?
FNF – Yeah, they just be hating. I got some people in here that i know on the streets that I’ve done helped out before. I kicked it with *inaudible*. They be like *inaudible*… it’s like they wanna see it. They congratulate you, but, it’s a lot of people in here that don’t wanna see people make it. Where I’m from, there’s a couple rappers. Everybody was counting me out. I wasn’t in the picture. “I don’t think he’s gonna make it-make it.” But i love it. I don’t care if they hate it.
DC – Exactly, they’re talking about it.
FNF – They paying attention. As long as they’re talking about it, that’s all that matters. He could go to 6th floor, 4th floor, he could go anywhere, he could even go home; but you still gonna have my name in your mouth, that all that matters. Long as you going around talking about it, you know, its gonna spread. I tell people all the time, you come to me talking bad about somebody I don’t know.. I don’t look at it like, “oh everything he say be true about this person.” I look at it like like, what did this dude do so good to make this man hate that much. So, hopefully people think the same way. I ain’t trippin.
DC – Real Shit. How is the perfect day gonna go for you when you get out? What you gonna eat? What you gonna do? Who you gonna kick it with?
Manager – Talk about it, talk about it!
FNF – Alright, alright. So, when i come home. I’m gonna throw on my goddam Versace. *inaudible* Balmain with the Versace sweater, you know, just something simple, not too much. I’m gonna put all my chains on. I’m gonna put all five of ‘em on. I gotta ring, i ain’t tell anyone this yet. I’m gonna talk my shit. I’m gonna walk back in the jail before i leave, you know. I’m gonna look the deputy with them Chanel bags, and I’m gonna have the money in my hand. Bout a cool 50 thousand. I’m gonna say, ‘what you was telling me? Yo ass can’t send me to the hole now.’ I’m gonna walk out the bitch, just take off. *inaudible* like *skrttttt* I might go stop by McDonalds. I’m coming home, I gotta eat something fast. Get me a Mcdouble. I’m gonna stop by the jewelery store. I’m trying to find like, a nice Rollie. You feel me, just a nice watch or something? Stop in there, show my face, show love, and probably get my mouth done. Go home. Kick it with my family, grab my daughter up. Go ahead and take them out. We ain’t gone out, like actually gone out to eat at nighttime. Or, if my mama decide to cook; like a little get together at my mama’s house, might be the house that i be staying at; just spend some time around family. Then at nighttime, I’m gonna go kick it with my dawgs. Probably, I don’t know, just sit back and chop it up; get on the dirt bikes and just ride off.
DC – Enjoy the air
FNF- That’s it, mhmm.
DC – Are there any names that have reached out to you that have kind of blown you away, like “oh, you know who i am now?”
FNF – I don’t know the names behind the labels that did reach out to me, and A&R’s that did reach out to me. Warner Records reached out, Atlantic Records reached out, Republic Records reached out, Some friend of some dude with connection to *inaudible*12:47 *You have one minute remaining* I’ll call you right back, I apologize bro.
DC – Alright, bet.
Manager – I know you said you gotta go, so we’ll probably knock the rest of the questions out as soon as he calls back.
Brick- Yeah yeah, it’s all good. I’ve only got like 5 left, so it’s all good. He’s doing great. Appreciate you.
Manager- Yeah, of course man. Appreciate y’all. I think you guys were the first ones to do an article on him, so you know, that’s definitely love.
FNF- Everybody here?
DC – Yup.
FNF – Alright, yeah, but i think the things that he was into; he started his own stuff. He had connections with 300? and Atlantic or something? Capitol Records reached out, Columbia Records, and then a couple i cant think of off the top of my head.
DC – Right.
FNF – But it’s crazy because, in 2018 when i had made a freestyle video, it just went viral like cancer. I ate shit up. I’m talking everything single Record label, besides Alamo, I didnt know who Alamo was. But every single record label that I knew who it was, like artist like Yo Gotti, Lil Baby, QCM Coach. Everybody that I knew had a label, I reached out to everybody. If you look at my Instagram DM right now, I reached out to everybody. Like, “Take a look at it, take a look at this. It only takes 30 seconds. You might regret it later on, you feel me?” I DM-ed everybody, you know?
DC – Sometimes you gotta sell yourself like that. Some people it works for, and it paid off. It hit at a different time, so it doesn’t even matter how you got there because you got there; so either way.
FNF – Yup
DC – Who are some producers that you wanna tap in with?
FNF – First, i definitely wanna get over there with Wheezy.
DC – That’d be fire.
FNF – Wheezy outta here. Like, if I could dream, that’s all I got. I’m going to do that. *inaudible* I gotta get in on a Metro Boomin‘ beat too.
DC – Yeah the energy would definitely mesh very well between you guys. What music were you raised on as a kid?
FNF – Church music.
DC – A lot of Gospel?
FNF – Yeah, i hated that shit. I’m gonna be 100%. It wasn’t about what they was saying, it was the beats. It was the beats that was horrible to me. That wasn’t life. Everything is not happy, everything is not cheerful, everything is not joyful. That’s just not life. So I never really understood that because, it was like I was pretending. It was like when you listen to it, you gotta pretend to be okay. Like uh-uh, I felt like I wanted to listen to *inaudible* But then they get mad when I listened to music with curse words in it, outloud. Like, “put some damn headphones in boy. You don’t need to be listening to that shit anyway.” Like man, you listen to what you listen to, and I’ll listen to what I listen to.
Brick- I mean it molded you into the artist and person you are now.
FNF – Before I started to listen to rap, I was listening to beats. You know beats, instrumentals. People I was tight with, I’m different. Like I would just listen to the album… what was it? “Type of Way”
DC – Oh, Rich Homie Quan?
FNF – Yup, and “Rich as Fuck” by Lil Wayne. I’d just listen to the beat, like not even rap over it. I’d just listen to the instrumental over and over again.
DC – Word. Are there some places in Virginia that you want to revisit when you get out that bring you peace, around the state or around your home town? Like someplace that makes you feel at home, make you feel one with your surroundings?
FNF – I wanna leave Virginia.
DC – Are you just gonna follow your career wherever it takes you?
FNF – Naw, I’m gonna get me a nice home in Miami, then I’m gonna get a big, big home in Cali. Then maybe like a home in Baltimore, and a home here, you know?
DC – Bet. So you got a little plan stated out for you.
FNF – Uh huh.
DC – Are there any new skills that you picked up on the inside? Any new outlooks on things? Just more focus, if you will?
FNF – Yeah, like, so basically now; it’s the investment side of it. Because, I was never rich, I never made no hundreds and hundreds of thousands. But, I always had money. You know, 20, 30, 40 thousand, 50 thousand. I wasn’t really… you couldn’t get me fanning all that because I had that already. Like I was locked up and made $26,000 in two months. So, I always had some type of money, but I always got stuck at the point of what to do with it. I’ve been sitting down learning, this would be the smartest way to invest this. I’ve been sitting back and thinking, like really thinking about the smartest way to invest to where those investments will give me back my money, like flip. I can really see money coming from fans*, and continuing to go forever and ever.
DC – Yeah, that way the money is working for you.
FNF – Yeah, like I’ve been trying to get people, like I been trying to get my mom, my girlfriend, my brothers like, “see what ya’ll need to get your liquor license” so we can get a lounge going on. It’s business, investments, that’s my whole goal when I come home. I’m going to have a billion investments, you know?
DC – Yup. Well my last question is really, “what message do you have for your fans, your supporters and your family before you get out?”
FNF – I just appreciate everything. Just being here for this whole journey and not giving up. Just hoping everyone that would just continue to watch, and when I do come home, to continue to root me on and show me the same support. I ain’t changing. You would never see me doing a lot of things people do when they get money. I want people to know, I’m not rich. I still struggle with things and I’m just a human being at the end of the day. Treat people with the same respect they treat you with. I’m no stronger than you because of my circumstances. We all the same, we all gotta eat.
DC – Very true. Well, thank you bro. I appreciate you for taking the time to even talk to me. When you get out bro, fucking live life and enjoy that shit. You’re very talented and i think you’ve got a very long way to go as well.
FNF – Of course man, thank you. Appreciate it man.
