Choppa Chop

CHOPPA CHOP MASSIVE B RECORDSCalvin ‘Choppa Chop’ Johnson originally hails from St Ann, the colourful parish known for producing renowned figureheads such as Burning Spear, Marcus Garvey, and the irrepressible Robert Nesta Marley
As if similar to the fate of these leading figures before him, his family relocated to Kingston where he attended the Maverly All-Age and moved on to the Holy Trinity High School.
Though his musical path was not yet clear to him, family members picked up the hint. Choppa was known to be an avid listener of the radio. His ears were almost glued to it as he tuned in to the likes of Dennis Brown, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and others he calls ‘The Ultimates.’
Ultimately, the widespread exposure to the music pushed him to creating his own melodies by the time he was in All-Age-School. When he went on to High School, he was already creating the rhymes for hundreds of rhythms that were rocking the local airwaves. School concerts were the perfect platforms for him to show off his fledging vocals as a deejay then. Over time, he refined the vocals and now prefers to be termed a “vocalist” than to be branded limitedly as a singer, or deejay, or chanter.
2004 it began, his most visible times in the business kicked off when he teamed with Bobby ‘Massive B’ Konders. He voiced several tracks for Konders,The first tune which received a lot play in the dancehall in Europe was “Real Herb”on the heavenless riddim, but the most memorable to date is ‘Lovely Day’ on the re-done ‘Truths and Rights’ rhythm.
For this tune he also shot a music video which was directed by the now acclaimed Nordia Rose. It was this music video that has printed the ChoppaChop face on the psyche of Jamaicans, and he has followed up quickly with the music video for ‘Don’t Sure’, another tune by Konders.
Choppa describes himself as focused artist, who although spirited, takes the time to listen when others are giving advice. He reads voraciously, to the point where he has his own library. To maintain his powerful vocals, he jogs on the beach occasionally, and swims to maintain lung strength.
Although not yet wearing the shoes of a producer, Choppa has developed an insightful perspective on the state of the music business. He believes producers should take more time to work with budding talent and fine-tune aspects of their craft, rather than wait for an artist to break big before wanting to simply ‘voice’ them. He feels such a culture retards the business rather than develop it. He sees himself in the production outfit one day, helping out as many artistes as he can, but for now, he is focused on bringing the Choppa Chop name more to the public. The videos currently in rotation on local cable networks, and the accompanying tracks are enjoying radio play as well. Choppa feels 2006 will be the year he finally steps ahead to cover more ground with his career.
CONTACT—BOBBY KONDERS—AT [email protected]
Choppa-876-437-3545