Afropolitan
Afropolitan
Afropolitan
⁠How I Learned That Passion Alone Will Keep You Broke
1 hour 48 minutes Posted Aug 13, 2025 at 4:05 pm.
intro)
– Intro
– One truth about the music business that can change your mindset
– Why you must own your masters (and how to do it)
– The six-year fight to reclaim his catalog
– The essential team every artist needs before releasing music
– Why the Grammy was never the goal – and how he won one anyway
– The night Chopstix found out he’d won a Grammy
– How the Grammy changed his career overnight
– Seeing sound: Chopstix explains his creative superpower
– Life in the legendary Jos music scene
– Sampling origins & building a personal sound library
– Early rejections that fueled his rise
– The making of Burna Boy’s “Last Last”
– Why some songs sit unreleased for years
– Chopstix’s unreleased albums and perfectionist process
– Are African producers getting their flowers?
– The credit problem in African music
– Why scarcity mindsets are holding the industry back
– Building artist development systems for the future
– The worst contract he’s ever seen
– Visa struggles and working globally without leaving Nigeria
– How Chopstix connected to the U.S. market
– Closing reflections
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Show notes
Chopstix: The Grammy-Winning Producer Behind Burna Boy’s “Last Last” & Chris Brown’s “Nightmares” | Afropolitan Podcast
From the streets of Jos to the global stage, Nigerian producer Chopstix has built a career rooted in passion, resilience, and pure creativity. In this unfiltered conversation, he reveals the battles he’s fought for ownership, the science behind his sound, and how he turned sampling into global smashes.
We talk Grammy wins, the making of Last Last, the politics of credit in African music, and the creative brotherhood that shaped a generation. Whether you’re a music fan, artist, or entrepreneur, this is a rare masterclass on building legacy in a cutthroat industry.
💡 What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why owning your masters is the ultimate game-changer
The untold story of “Last Last” and the Tony Braxton sample
How a chance encounter in Jos changed Chopstix’s career forever
Why many African producers don’t get the credit they deserve
The art of making timeless music in a TikTok era
⏱ Chapters (adjusted for
🎧 Listen to more Afropolitan Podcast episodes:
YouTube link - https://www.youtube.com/@afropolitan
Spotify Link - https://open.spotify.com/show/6YwRlkSOq8e35xU6bOp9pU?si=b3a132f9afb3459f&nd=1&dlsi=32c01e3224ac4c64
Apple Link - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afropolitan/id1808954585
📌 Follow Chopstix:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chopstiiiix/?hl=en
📌 Follow Afropolitan:
Instagram: http://instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Twitter: https://x.com/afropolitan
Website: https://www.afropolitan.io/
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