“I’ve really been interested in music since I’ve been young,” the gravelly voice emcee begins. “I was always performing for the family. I’ve always been into music. I always loved all kinds of music coming up.”
Choobakka, whose name translates to ‘warrior’ in African dialect, didn’t necessarily set out initially to pursue a career in rap, but that is the way that things ended up. “It migrated there,” the Brooklyn native/Georgia transplant reflects. “I was doing it for fun in the beginning, and then as I got better I got more serious with it. At first, I started writing a lot of material, and then, I guess, for the last five years I’ve really been hitting it hard.”
Having set out to find a major label home where he could unleash his lyrical fury on the hip hop world, the aspiring young upstart quickly decided to take the independent route instead. He found his recording casa in the form of East Coast based, Big Daddy Records. “I’ve been to a lot of different labels and all of ’em wanted to sign me, but the business wasn’t right,” Choobakka explains. “My manager advised me that my best interest wouldn’t want my project to be shelved or be held back because of another artist, so even though primarily we wanted to be signed to a major – we still wanted to be a priority. So, we had this meeting with Sammy Z (CEO for Big Daddy), and he signed me on the spot!” Thus birthing, ‘My Time,’ Choobakka’s eagerly awaited debut album.
Fueled by the set’s initial offering, “She’s Feeling Me,” a fiery duet with Big Daddy’s femme fatale, Lady J, ‘My Time‘ is the perfect antidote in helping cure the disease that is plaguing many of today’s chart topping rap releases. Choobakka describes, “It’s a bouncy album. It’s definitely something you want to bounce to. It’s an album that breaks the boundaries of a lot of stuff that is out now. A lot of the entities, I don’t know what it is, but they aren’t doing it. They are not doing it like I’m doing it.” Expounding, “It’s definitely gonna make an impact. I’m someone that you wanna see. I’m an entertainer, and I love what I do. So, who better to look at than someone who loves what they do.”
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With his brand new album, an upcoming national tour, and a positive outlook on his future in the biz, the proud father of a six-year old little girl, is definitely in this for the long haul. “Choobakka is a phenomenon. There’s nobody like Choobakka. Choobakka is different, and you want to love him ’cause he’s him. He doesn’t try to be what he’s not. It’s entertainment, and you can’t turn your back on talent.” Concluding, “I’ve overcome a great deal of poverty. I overcame homelessness. I overcame no family. I overcame it because I have faith in what I do, and I dedicated my life to it.”
