How I Learned That Passion Alone Will Keep You Broke
Chopstix: The Grammy-Winning Producer Behind Burna Boy’s “Last Last” & Chris Brown’s “Nightmares” | Afropolitan Podcast by Chika Uwazie and Eche Emole
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:
Chapters
00:00 – Intro
02:10 – One truth about the music business that can change your mindset
04:00 – Why you must own your masters (and how to do it)
06:50 – The six-year fight to reclaim his catalog
09:30 – The essential team every artist needs before releasing music
11:10 – Why the Grammy was never the goal – and how he won one anyway
14:00 – The night Chopstix found out he’d won a Grammy
16:00 – How the Grammy changed his career overnight
18:00 – Seeing sound: Chopstix explains his creative superpower
20:30 – Life in the legendary Jos music scene
24:10 – Sampling origins & building a personal sound library
28:50 – Early rejections that fueled his rise
31:50 – The making of Burna Boy’s “Last Last”
36:40 – Why some songs sit unreleased for years
39:20 – Chopstix’s unreleased albums and perfectionist process
41:40 – Are African producers getting their flowers?
45:00 – The credit problem in African music
50:00 – Why scarcity mindsets are holding the industry back
52:10 – Building artist development systems for the future
56:00 – The worst contract he’s ever seen
1:00:00 – Visa struggles and working globally without leaving Nigeria
1:03:40 – How Chopstix connected to the U.S. market
1:06:00 – Closing reflectionsListen to more Afropolitan Podcast episodes:
YouTube link - / @afropolitan
Follow Chopstix:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chopstiiiix...
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Instagram: / afropolitanpodcast
Twitter: https://x.com/afropolitan
Website: https://www.afropolitan.io/
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