CHOPS is the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

of Scott Robert Jung, also known as Scott Chops Jung, an American hip hop producer,

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and former member of the Asian American Hip-Hop group, the

Mountain Brothers Mountain Brothers was an American hip hop group originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named after the legend of 108 mountain bandits depicted in the Chinese novel ''Water Margin'', Mountain Brothers are considered cultural pioneers, being ...

. Jung grew up in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and has Chinese ancestry. While with Mountain Brothers, he became known for using a combination of programmed and live instruments in his work, as opposed to sampling the work of others. Since the disbanding of the Mountain Brothers, CHOPS has worked primarily as a producer, with his most high-profile piece being the critically acclaimed 2011 video for Lonely Island entitled "The Creep."

Early life

Chops and his family were constantly moving from place to place, so he rarely made any long-lasting friendships. He did share a common interest with his brother in making music. Chops' passion for making beats began with his friend from high school. His friend brought a device to school that transformed Chop's life forever. It was a drum machine, and Chops began to copy beats from his favorite song, “Walk This Way” by Run DMC. After that, making beats became his life. Since his family was constantly on the move, music was the one thing that would never change, so his mother bought him an electric keyboard and his brother a guitar. Chops always got support from his mother and brother. “My brother has a band and I do mostly key.” Chops enrolled in many music courses while attending Penn State, but did not major in music. His parents discouraged him from majoring in music because they thought it would not result in a stable career.

Strength in Numbers

After the Mountain Brothers went their own ways Chops continued producing music. After Chops became a father, he started to question how he could contribute to the world in order for it to better for his daughter. This led to Chops’ creation of the album Strength in Numbers, which consists of collaborations with talented Asian American artists and himself. Strength in Numbers was completed over a period of two years, beginning in 2011. Chops wanted this album to be a great reflection of Asian American artists with great talent. Chops wanted people to dismantle stereotypes and let the music speak for itself instead of being influenced by the way the artists look. Chops, like other Asian American artists, have felt prejudged for being incapable of creating great music because of their ethnicity. When Chops was in the Mountain Brothers, the group would step on stage and everybody would assume their music would not be good and stereotype them, but after they performed the crowd would be amazed by their talents. “I remember this one guy connected with a big label that said, ‘You know what ya should do? Wear karate suits and hit gongs, ya know what I mean? Stuff like that, stuff with yo culture.’ I was born in New Jersey man.” With relatively few Asian American rappers in the mainstream, Chops believes that this album is a way for everybody to witness that Asian Americans, like artists of all other races, have the talent and should be acknowledged. Strength in Numbers consists of the contributions of over 30 artists.

Film score composing

Chops also composed the original score for

Ursula Liang Ursula Liang is an American filmmaker, film and television producer, and story consultant known for her work in Documentary film, documentary cinema. Liang's career had its beginnings in journalism, transitioning into filmmaking with a focus on s ...

's documentary ''

9-Man (film) ''9-Man'' is a 2014 American documentary film about the sport 9-man played in Chinatowns in the U.S. and Canada. ''The New York Times'' called it "an absorbing documentary." The film, which had its world premiere at IFFBoston on April 27, 2014, wo ...

'' (2014), about a sport played by Chinese American men in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The film won a Best Documentary award at the 2014

CAAMFest CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every May (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation' ...

, as well as a Special Jury Prize for Best Director - Documentary Feature and an Audience Award for Documentary Feature from the 2014

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...

. The documentary was also nominated for the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for Best Documentary at the 2014

Hawaii International Film Festival Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the 2014

.''Id.''

Discography

Film scores

*''

'' (2014), Directed by Ursula Liang

With the Mountain Brothers

*1999: ''Self: Volume 1'' (Self Released) *2002: ''Microphone Phenomenal'' (Babygrande Records) *2003: ''Triple Crown'' (Babygrande Records)

Albums

*2003: ''Food For Naught'' (Day by Day Entertainment, Inc.) *2003: ''My First Break Record'' (Brick Records) *2004: ''Virtuosity'' (Good Vibe Recordings) *2004: ''Look What I Found In My Backpack'' *2004: ''20 Piece Bucket Breaks'' (Brick Records) *2005: ''Gangsta Breaks'' (Brick Records) *2006: ''Dark'' (Image Music Group) *2014: ''Strength In Numbers''

Mixtapes

*2002: ''Hidden Gemz'' (mixed & hosted by DJ Excel) (Offishal Fully Records) *2004: ''The Chef Vs. The Butcher'' (with

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

, mixed by DJ Lt. Dan) *2004: ''By Hook Or By Crook'' (with

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla-Unit). was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released ...

, mixed by DJ Lt. Dan) *2005:

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...

: ''The Return of Osirus'' (with DJ Lt. Dan, DJ Strong) *2006: ''It's Going Down: National Champs'' (with Paul Wall, DJ Clue) *2007: ''9th Year Freshman'' (with

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record ...

) *2009: ''Chops Best Remixes Vol. 1'' *2009: ''Glass Ceiling'' *2009: ''Chops Best Remixes Vol. 2'' *2009: ''A Lot On My Plate But Still Hungry'' *2011: ''Songs Your Girl Likes''

Production

Bahamadia - BB Queen (2000) * 3. "Special Forces" (feat. Chops, Rasco, and Planet Asia) * Spaztik Emcee aka Mark Spitz - For Those That Do (2002) * 2. "Fresh" * 3. "We Three Kings" (feat. Chops and Grand Agent) * 5. "Rocksteady" (featuring Darryl Powell) * 6. "Run of the Mill (remix) (feat. Regina Monique) * 7. "Expect It (feat Chops) * 9. "Party People" (feat

J-Ro Tha Alkaholiks, also known as Tha Liks, is an American hip hop trio from Los Angeles. Since the early 1990s they have produced party music with a hardcore hip hop edge, powered by the beats of DJ and producer E-Swift (he was born Eric Brooks ...

of the Alkaholiks) * 11. "Pessimistic (Who I Be) * 12. "Wild, Red, Hot (Remix)" (feat.

Rasco Keida Brewer (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as Rasco (a bacronym for "Realistic, Ambitious, Serious, Cautious, and Organized"), is an American rapper. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Rasco became associated with hip hop in California. ...

) * 13. "High" (feat. Bigfoot) * 14. "First Assignment" (feat Dave Ghetto & Sun) Hieroglyphics – Hiero Imperium Presents: The Corner (2005) * 10. Everybody's Gangsta Ol Dirty Bastard - Osirus (2006) * 3. "Go Go Go" (feat. Blahzay Blahzay) * 9. "Don't Stop Ma (Out of Control)" * 12. "Down South" DJ Clue? - The Professional 3 (2006) * 9."Grill and Woman" - (by Mike Jones, Paul Wall and Bun B)

Young Jeezy - ''The Inspiration'' (2006)

*19. "National Anthem" (

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

bonus track)

Chamillionaire - ''Ultimate Victory'' (2007)

*16. "We Breakin Up"

Bun B - ''II Trill'' (2008)

*03. "Damn I'm Cold" (feat.

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

) *18. "Keep It 100"

Sway - ''The Signature LP'' (2008)

*11. "Stereo"

San Quinn - "From A Boy to a Man" (2008)

*04. "Double Dose of Gangsta" (featuring CHOPS) * 17. "Devotion" (featuring Too Short, Mistah F.A.B. and Chops) Keak Da Sneak "Deified" (2008) * 19. "I Get It In" (featuring San Quinn, Chops & Bra Heff) All City (San Quinn, Big Rich, Boo Banga) - 41 Feva (2008) * "Get It Anyway We Can" Keak Da Sneak and San Quinn "Welcome To Scokland" * 2. "Welcome to Scokland" * 4. Streetz Don't Lie

Chamillionaire - ''Venom'' (2010)

*00. "The Main Event" Nappy Roots - Pursuit of Nappyness (2010) * 6. "How I Do" * 11. "Know About Me" * 14. "Paint A Picture" * 16 "All For You"

The Lonely Island - ''Turtleneck & Chain'' (2011)

* 13. "The Creep" featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

Bambu - ... one rifle per family (2012) * 4. "Rent Money" (featuring Rocky Rivera) The Lonely Island - The Wack Album (2013) * 10."I'm a Hustler (Song?)" * 12."I Run NY" (featuring Billie Joe Armstrong)

References

External links

*
CHOPS websiteCHOPS YouTubeChops at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:CHOPS American rappers of Asian descent Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from Philadelphia Hip-hop record producers Good Vibe Recordings artists Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers