NLE Choppa Surprises Hospitalized Boy As Santa For Christmas

NLE Choppa has taken his special bond with a young fan to a whole new level thanks by playing Santa during a surprise Christmas visit.

In a new video posted to YouTube on Sunday (December 25), the Memphis rapper explained how he connected with 12-year-old AJ — who suffers from scoliosis and a rare birth defect of the heart called truncus arteriosus type 1 — after being tagged in a TikTok post.

The video saw AJ listing off his Christmas wish list, which he said his mother had told him was unrealistic.

“After watching the video, I got in contact with his mom and from there I was facetiming him and messaging him every day,” NLE Choppa said in a voiceover intro. “Christmas was coming around the corner so I decided to grant all his wishes by buying him all the gifts he had asked for. I even flew out to Texas to go surprise him at the hospital.”

The YouTube post captured Choppa’s journey from the airport through the moment he arrived at the hospital in a Santa costume with a hand truck carrying every item on AJ’s list, including a PS5, an iPhone 13, sneakers and clothes. While the “Ice Spice” rapper wasn’t able to fulfill one of AJ’s requests, a house with a backyard, his delivery included a few things the young boy had not specifically asked for.

“With artistry and music you start to gain friends or gain people that you never woulda thought you would,” NLE Choppa said ahead of the visit. “There’s certain people you pick up on your journey? He’s one of those ones so this is the start of a friendship that I wanna carry in my heart and just carry for the rest of my life. So, ‘You got a friend in me,’ that’s all I want him to know.”

While she and her son spent some time with NLE Choppa and his father, AJ’s mom said that he has undergone dozens of medical procedures to address his heart and spinal conditions. She added that, at the age of 12, her son has outlived any other child ever diagnosed with truncus arteriosus, explaining that most don’t make it past 2 years old.

Around the 18-minute mark of the video, AJ reciprocated one of Choppa’s gifts by autographing the top of the Santa costume he was wearing with a message that included the phrase, “Keep your head up,” which prompted the rapper to think of his friend and fellow Memphis artist Big Scarr, who passed away on Thursday (December 22).

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“Yo and it’s crazy I was just thinking of a lyric while he was signing it,” he told the camera. “I was thinking of a 2pac lyric and he just wrote, ‘Keep your head up.’ That’s crazy. I feel like that’s a message to Scarr. Rest in peace to Scarr, ’cause I lost Scarr yesterday.”

Following his time with AJ, NLE Choppa told viewers that, while this wasn’t his first time doing something like this for a fan in need, he plans on sharing more content like this. But only for the sake of spreading positivity.

“That was a W day. It means a lot to be able to do this,” he added. “I feel like this is why I’m in the position that I’m in, to simply inspire the youth and just to give back and just do things of this nature. And I’m not doing it for clout, I’m not doing it for views; I genuinely wanna do it. I really wanted to stay the whole night if I could.”