We were first introduced to Jonny Chopps last year when he tagged fbi.radio in an Instagram reel of early single “Cooler”
We instantly fell in love with the off-kilter brags of “I’m so cold”, leading to it becoming one of our favourite songs of the year and earning a nomination for Song of the Year at the SMAC Awards. Since then it’s been win after win for Chopps. His breakout track “Cognac For Christmas” was co-signed by the likes of Ninajirachi and The Kid LAROI (who brought him out on stage in Brooklyn), he’s performed for On The Radar, and he even got a mention from Pitchfork. Riding this momentum Chopps has delivered Catalyst, a 10-track mixtape that perfectly displays why the young artist has the world buzzing.
While Chopps’ earlier releases stuck mainly in the realms of drill and trap, Catalyst sees him launch headfirst into rage. A shift that’s made seamless thanks to production from some of the top producers in the game like zetra, .cutspace and Zodiac. And Jonny takes to this new sound like a duck to water, as the blaring 808s and sparkling synths lay the perfect base for him to further develop his unique vocal delivery. Touches of autotune add texture as he experiments with a range of voices so wide it rivals the heights of Young Thug. Like on lead single “Element”, where he flips between the cleanly sung hook and gruff growled verses with ease.
Through all of this vocal experimentation though, one thing he never loses is the Aussie accent. And this isn’t an accident. On closer “Motorola” he says: “I make the accent sound good… they don’t even sound Australian, they sound atrocious”. Despite working with producers from across the globe and shifting towards a sound typically less associated with “Aussie” rap, Chopps’ style is unmistakably Australian. Not just in the accent, but in his bars too (and not just because of how many C-bombs he drops). Sure, across the mixtape he raps about being in France, Spain and New York City, but he also shouts out Rockdale, Blakehurst and Miranda. While it’s unfortunately common for Aussie artists to blow up and suddenly never come back home, Chopps makes it clear that’s not him. On “Forest Gumpy” he goes as far as to say “I’m gettin’ real homesick, I need my Tim Tams, Shapes and Jumpys”.
The Aussie-ness of Jonny Chopps doesn’t just come from his words and his voice though, it’s in his aura. Across Catalyst he plays the classic Aussie larrikin to a tee. He spits edgy bars that toe the line of going too far, then just when you think he’s crossed it he’ll hit you with a Minecraft reference or a warning not to order a burger from a kebab shop on Oxford Street and you’re suddenly disarmed. He’s like the kid in your maths class who won’t stop disrupting but you don’t mind because the jokes are actually kinda funny. Everything Jonny does, from the raunchy to the weird, just adds to his charm. Catalyst is a project that could only come from an artist who knows exactly who he is. Who else would have the confidence to throw a gabber-backed banger like “Garbage” in the middle of a rage tape? What Catalyst shows is that Jonny Chopps isn’t concerned with trends or appearing cool. He is the trend. He’s already “so cool”.
Words by Jim Kretschmer