Multi-platinum-selling American rapper Lil Baby has teamed with Byron Messia for a new hit Choppa.

The track entered the UK Singles chart at #51 last Friday, while faring better at #12 on the UK Official Hip-Hop and R&B Singles chart.

This is the third time that Lil Baby has teamed up with an artiste with Jamaican heritage. He previously collaborated with producer Rvssian on the 2021 single M&M, which also featured rapper Future. In 2019 he collaborated with Stefflon Don on Phone Down, which reached #68 on the UK Singles chart.

Choppa was produced by Rvssian and has been described as a fusion of dancehall and hip hop.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer last Friday Byron Messia explained how the collaboration with Lil Baby came about.

“Me and Rvssian had the idea for the song around the time Lil Baby and I had agreed to do a song together. Upon hearing the song over and over I told Rvssian that the song sounds like it will fit with Lil Baby. So I carried it to him and it was magic after,” shared Byron Messia.

Choppa was recorded in Miami.

The song reflects the struggles of those who feel trapped in cycles of poverty and violence.

This is Byron Messia’s third appearance on the UK Singles chart. His breakthrough hit Talibans peaked at #12 in June 2023 and it spent 19 weeks on the chart. He was featured on the Chris Brown single Nightmares, which topped out at #73 on the chart.

Talibans, which has been certified gold in Canada and the United Kingdom, charted at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #53 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart.

The song also made its presence felt on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 Airplay, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and Rap Airplay charts.

Since it was released on June 13, the official video for Choppa has racked up more than 2 million views on YouTube. Up to Sunday, June 23, it ranked at #10 on YouTube’s Trending for Music chart.

Byron Messia says he is pleased with the response that has been received thus far.

“The song is getting a lot of good feedback. It gained 1 million views on YouTube in four days. This is just the start, we have so much in store to do with this record,” he shared.

Byron Messia’s debut album No Love peaked at #4 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

He told the Observer he is working on his sophomore album, Sad and Famous, which he said is almost complete.

The artiste shared that he is excited about his collaboration with dancehall artiste Masicka on the song Killing Syndrome.

“You know, Masicka has been one of my favourite artistes since I was in high school. To grow up listening to the legend, and [now] being on a track with him, was one of the greatest feelings since I got the break in the music industry. Hopefully we can collaborate on more in the future,” Byron Messia disclosed.

Lil Baby who is from Atlanta, USA, is a Grammy and BET award-winning rapper who is best known for a string of hits, including
We Paid, The Bigger Picture, Yes Indeed, and Drip Too Hard.

He has released three full-length studio albums, 2018’s Harder Than Ever (certified platinum), 2020’s My Turn (which topped the Billboard 200 albums chart and has sold more than 4 million copies), and 2022’s If Only Me (which has been certified platinum).

The 29-year-old rapper whose real name is Dominique Armani Jones, has sold more than 124 million singles in the United States.