FROM SANFORD TO THE CHARTS! #BEHINDTHEBEAT

Being able to make some solid noise & be recognized in your own city for a talent you’ve obtained & crafted on growing up can be a major dictation of failure or success in your career path .. So imagine building from a sound that your city isn’t even fully aware of yet & to also get love from the city where you found the sound you are adapting to as if you were from there! This Sanford, North Carolina native has been able to master the sounds of New York drill & beyond to take over the production game around him by storm! We all know the famous saying “Pressure Makes Diamonds”. Well, this young producer is no stranger to pressure or disappointment.. from his own father not believing his talents.. taking him "Off His Hands", disowning him & his success, to losing up to $5,000 just to watch his dreams flourish... but still determined to touch M's!

Commencing his curiosity for production around 2016-2017, C-Hop has been able to use the sounds & influences around him to muster up his own style in not only the wave of New York City drill production, but also adapt & add his own concepts / theories to the sounds of his current Sanford surroundings! From growing up listening to Big L & Nas all the way down to Slipknot & having an open ear with music C-Hop has managed to Lock himself in with artists in major regions & has even been able to work with mainstream entities, have a Hot 97 article based on his own name & build solid relationships with some dope curators as you will read!

C-HOP IN THE LAB!

Discredited & under appreciated, C-Hop laced up his shoes & literally kicked the door off the hinges to the house of production! With the motivation of close family/friends mixed with determination & dedication to his craft, C-Hop never gave up.. he stayed consistent & worked through all his obstacles within the years to build up a strong discography of the artist that he’s been able to lock in with today - along the lines of Flexx Lugar, Chow Lee, Lonny Love, GetRichZay, Big Mali, Unreleased A$AP 12vyy & Nav Tracks, Big GLTAOW, Famous Dex & Coi Leary - racking up almost 4,500,000+ streams/views platform wide!

Being a producer is one thing, but being a producer who is capable of creating sounds that gravitate & impact a city that you aren't from is a whole another ball game - & this young curator plays the game with ease as he establishes his own name in this game of what we call beat-making. I have got the opportunity to learn more about C-Hop & his journey as a producer throughout these past couple of years. Check out our interview below & make sure to follow Hop on all platforms, links will be automated to the clickables below! - Thank you C-Hop for taking the time to conduct this article with us & we hope this piece of work opens up more doors for networking in your future!

C-HOP SOUNDCLOUD PLAYLIST!

THIRTY SIX SEVEN - C-HOP INTERVIEW / ARTICLE

Thirty Six Seven: “Let us start off by getting the frequently googled questions of - how old are you my guy? & where are you from?”

C-Hop: “ I’m 23 years old - straight out of Sanford, North Carolina. Not a lot of people make it out of Sanford to be real with you. I was lucky off of the music & I've been connected with a lot of nyc artist & other artist as well from other states”

Thirty Six Seven: “So what was Sanford like environmental wise? How was your upbringing as a kid & What did you listen to growing up?"

C - H O P

C-Hop: “Sanford, North Carolina is small as fuck & everyone knows everyone. It’s a lot of hate here.. but I was always a music dude for real.. my folks were big on listening to old school shit & a lot of rap. Big L, Nas, Biggie, SWV & Etc. I ended up also growing a ear for Marilyn Manson & Slipknot.. that's where half of my inspirations come from when i make crazy ass beats 🤣.”

Thirty Six Seven: “So when did you start making beats?"

C-Hop: “I started making beats around 2016 going into 2017 & gained a little bit of attention not just from Sanford but actually all over & i was kind of shocked because at first i was just doing it for fun. I was always that nigga beating on the class & lunch tables 😂.”

Thirty Six Seven: “How did you get your name “C-Hop” & how did your first vocal tag come about?"

C-Hop: “My blood big brother gave me the name around 2013-2014 but i never used it. I actually started making beats because of him, he has a big part in my career.. without big bro i don’t know what I'd be doing with my life.. he's been holding shit down for a minute so when i get big I'm going to return the favor but better; i had other tags but i didn’t think they were fitting."

“I went to trade school in Pennsylvania & met a lot of philly folks while i was up there, everyone would call me “C-Hop” so around 2020 one of my good friends from philly was on live & she just said “Hey C-HOP” so i took that little clip of the live & finessed it on FL Studio lol. Ever since then that tag stood out & became legendary to my peers so shoutout the homie Tierra!”

Thirty Six Seven: “Can you remember the first beat you ever curated? & how that moment came about?” where were you, what was the mood? - did you use FL Studio?”

C-Hop: “ I used FL Studio 20 back in 2016 to 2019, i had the old FL & was good on that too - the first beat i ever made was actually a sample from the Stylistics but i didn’t like it like that much.. so i kept doing my own thing till i got better at it. I would say 2017-2018 is prime C-Hop fasho.. but now I’m something serious for real! - plus i played a lot of super old video games & started sampling those & movies too”

Thirty Six Seven: “What have you been bumping lately? what’s in your rotation right now?”

C-Hop: “I’ve been listening to a lot of Shawny Binladen & Big GLTAOW - other mainstream artists too but those are really my top 2 favorite nyc drill rappers. They inspire my sound on drill beats to keep it a stack with you. I really don’t bump other peoples music like that.. i really listen to my own shit.. i mean it’s nothing wrong with that you feel me. I want my sound to have people shook & have they hair standing up lol.”

Thirty Six Seven: “Who was the first major artist that you locked in with & how did that song come about? - is the song still out at this moment?”

C-Hop: “The first artist i was really locked in with was Flexx Lugar, he’s from nyc - then during that run i was getting placements with other mainstream & upcoming artists.. some of them are out & some of them unreleased - it was a good moment. Me & Lugar are still in touch, we got a blue magic tape series out everywhere too & blue magic 3 on the way 2023”

Thirty Six Seven: “What has been your favorite track you’ve produced or been apart of in your career thus far? Any special ones to you?”

Z A Y & C H O P !

C-Hop: “My favorite song i produced is a track i have with A$AP 12vyy. I co-produced it with Goldfi$h it’s a unreleased song from 2018,

S T R E A M - A R D C M O N !

So far as of now it’s probably “2sg4eva” by GetRichZay - he’s from North Carolina as well, I landed like 4-5 hits on his mixtape “Ard Cmon” which did a million+ streams.”

Thirty Six Seven: “How did the tracks on Lonny Love’s album come about? & that whole moment for you gang?"

C-Hop: “I was bumping Lonny Cash & Chow around January.. i want to say maybe back then, i made a beat in March or February & that sample was from the Stylistics “Everything”

"Like i said i got a lot of old school in me.. so i can really go dumb on any old school sample thrown my way! I’m going to say around the middle of May he previewed the track & i had no idea he was going to get on it to be honest. I was just sending him shit which landed to me getting his number & a follow back on Instagram. I have a few hits on his deluxe album & i got a collaboration with him & my boy Eli - he from nyc too, ever since then me & Lonny been building so shout out to my boy & Dollhouse Records..”

Thirty Six Seven: “Let’s talk about this Luger tape, i see that you & him locked in heavy over the past couple years to the point where you have a whole tape self produced!”

C-Hop: “Me & bruhnem been working since 2018 & we really got hits! some folks sleeping on us but who cares.. it’ll grow over they big ass heads lol.. but ever since i hopped on the drill scene I've been getting a lot of attention from nyc artists, producers & even DJ's.. like it’s crazy, so once i hopped on that wave i guess he was fucking with it so we did a tape. We were working on that tape since January & it finally came out plus he dropped a video for it “drillin” that song is getting a lot of buzz so everything's falling in motion.”

Thirty Six Seven: “In your own personal opinion; what has been the toughest part of being a producer career wise for you?”

C-Hop: “When i lost $5,000 off music, i was damn near ready to quit all this shit! This was recently too lol.. but i said fuck it I’m going to just push harder.. but my plan is to have my name hold weight as a producer/beatmaker whatever people call me lol but I'm here to stay facts! i didn’t come in the game just to chase a placement or gain clout music really in my blood so… & i used to play drums & shit too.. then transitioned that into making beats.”

Thirty Six Seven: “Who are some people you consider friends in this line of work you’re in? Any peers or a collective you rocking with right now?”

C-Hop: “Well to be honest I'm really connected with big artists & even big producers.. got some #’s & emails but i don't take advantage of nothing so i try & keep a good balance with my relationships outside of music or in too. I fuck with the ATM movement.. hopefully i can get some work in together with them.

“Me & Carlos produced “Blasting” With Big GLTAOW - me & him have a lot of collaborations that aren’t out but i feel like artist hopped on it lol. Me & Big GLTAOW got some songs in the tuck but all that shit going to drop soon, right I'm locked in with AshleySoulBeats - she’s amazing & her style in beats is incredible.. if anyone wants to work with me I'm down just don't be on no play shit because i really stand on business about my music.”

Thirty Six Seven: “Can you tell us 5 things you can’t live without? - Just 5 things you need in your life 24/7 gang!”

C-HOP HOT 97 FEATURE!

C-Hop: “My laptop, My Cellphone, Some Chapstick, Food - & Water!”

Thirty Six Seven: “When you aren’t making beats, what other ventures do you dabble in gang? What else do you enjoy doing on your free time?”

C-Hop: “i workout play the game - watch tv & shit like that. I keep a eye on what’s good & what’s not.. i smoke a lot too so i be sleep sometimes till the next day - or I'll just watch cook up videos on big producers i look up too in the game.”

Thirty Six Seven: “What one thing about this industry you would change? What don’t you like about the production game or is a pet peeve of yours?”

C-Hop: “When producers get too comfortable off of one placement - like mf you better work your ass off more & more for real lol. I really wouldn’t change anything respectfully.. i’ll just sit back & wait til shit dies out & bring my elements in.”

Thirty Six Seven: “What can we expect next coming from C- HOP? Any projects or singles coming out?”

C-Hop: “Just be on the look out for whatever i produce because a lot is coming! - i felt like 2022 was okay to me but it could’ve been better.. I'm just ready for 2023 its all or nothing for real because music is all i have.. i don’t want to do nothing else but this.. I'll die for this & wont give a shit because I’m going to always stand on business when it comes down to something i really love 💯.”

Thirty Six Seven: “2016 - to the current year, you been in this game a little minute my guy - you not a rookie anymore.. give the people reading this a little motivation.. some advice maybe?”

C-Hop: “My advice to all the producers is to just keep doing you - stay in your own lane & create waves. it's a lot of musician’s that are real life good that cant even get opportunities because of people that's up there that choose to be Hollywood & shit like that - but i say fuck them because people always come back around & you right I'm not a rookie no more i feel like time passed real quick. so I'm in a different stage now - i got era’s.”