As a teenager he worked on his lyrical skills as a hobby but all the while he felt his destiny was in professional sports. Disagreements with his high-school football coach steered him away from sports and Choppa started taking his rap skills seriously. An appearance on New Orleans' popular radio show Nine O'Clock Props made Choppa an instant hit with listeners and he soon became a regular guest. In 2001 the independent label Take Fo' released his debut, Choppa Style, an album filled with a more party-styled version of Southern rap called bounce music. The title cut became an inescapable regional hit and soon BET's late-night show Uncut began airing the video. Master P caught wind of the single and headed to New Orleans. His visit to the city ended with Choppa signed to P's No Limit Records and a promise from P that he was going to take bounce music to the world. A re-recorded version of "Choppa Style," with Master P adding some verse, became an instant hit and No Limit issued Choppa's Straight from the N.O. album in 2003. ~ David Jeffries