CHOPS

CHOPS is the stage name of Scott Jung, also known as Scott Chops Jung, an American hip hop producer, rapper and former member of the Asian American Hip-Hop group, the Mountain Brothers. Jung grew up in Philadelphia 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.