Playboi Carti's eponymous mixtape kicked off the summer with "Magnolia," but "New Choppa" was another, less hyped standout. While the track honestly feels like more of a Rocky joint than a Carti one, the dynamic between the two artists shines on both the song and its visual component. With an opening shot that encapsulates their dynamic, both rappers squeeze onto a couch while smoking a shitload of weed, discussing what any good rapper might discuss - guns. Rocky kicks off the Tarantino-esque discussion by decrying the new generation of rappers who insist on filling their videos with frivolous guns, sarcastically rattling off the preferred weapons of the uninformed. When he asks Carti about his own personal favorite, Carti responds immediately: the chopper.
The video within a video proceeds to commence, mirroring an infomercial, only much easier on the eyes. Bikini-clad women line up at a firing range, taking aim at several targets - a stuffed fox, a pie, a bottle of Sprite and a pineapple all end up indiscriminately blown back. While this goes on, Carti and Rocky brandish their weapons while spitting bars, all while a fictitious phone number flashes at the bottom: 1-555-NEW-CHOPPA.
On Playboi Carti Rocky's "New Choppa" verse was, and still is, a lyrical gem amidst a sea of ad lib-laden bars. That's not to say Playboi Carti doesn't hold it down, because he's more than capable of his own moments of charismatic and swagged out brilliance. Still, Rocky's presence elevates "New Choppa" to another level, and one wishes the track might have gone on a little longer. It's a good thing that it ultimately landed the video treatment, and were this song structured in a more mainstream-friendly way, it might have reached some of the same heights Magnolia did.
