NLE Choppa is still triggering those fragile critics of his masculinity that have formed an uproar around his public image as of late, adding even more fuel to the fire by turning standards around. Moreover, he recently posed in sultry and suggestive ways for a Playgirl photo shoot, and a lot of people are focusing on how he seems to do anything for the bag. But the Memphis MC has turned his persona into much more of an overall statement on masculinity, provocativeness, and sensuality that has angered some hyper-masculine males for its flamboyance and made many other demographics fall in love.
Of course, there are more legitimate criticisms at play here like potential queer-baiting and perpetuating superficial standards regardless of gender dynamics, but NLE Choppa seems to sidestep those issues at various turns. After all, the actual facts of what he does are more lewd versions of what many male rap fans like or are at least attracted to with femcees, so why is it such a big deal when a guy plays into similar ideas? Some people just love to complain...
NLE Choppa For Playgirl
In any case, NLE Choppa's often controversial, sometimes exaggerated, but always resonant moves in these areas also pair themselves with big musical moments, even if some of them don't really pan out all the way. If you told us back in the early "Shotta Flow" days that he would one day link up with Imagine Dragons, we would rest easy knowing that time travel is still impossible because there's no way that would be the outcome. But yet, here we are, and their "Dare U" collab is about as bombastic, sterile, and bizarre as it sounds on paper in all the worst ways.
Fortunately, NLE Choppa hit us right back with "444" and returned to his musical roots and the type of song that his fanbase initially loved him for. This Playgirl photoshoot does show his career evolution, particularly as it relates to his image, but the old Choppa never left. We'll see what his next move that angers queasy bigots looks like, and whether or not it sticks around.
