Rapper NLE Choppa enjoyed a breakout year in 2024. But after major controversy surrounded the Memphis star, real name Bryson LaShun Potts, over his hit song “Slut Me Out,” he announced he’s back after taking major time to reflect on what he calls the “humiliation ritual” that followed.
Just before the new year, Potts posted a 48 minute-long video on YouTube detailing all the mess he’s been through. “I passed my humiliation ritual with all honors — with flying colors,” the rapper started the video off with.
According to him, spring and summer of 2024 were particularly difficult for NLE. In his video, the rapper said specifically in August, he faced backlash and scrutiny like he’s never known before.
“I [came] into August with a fearless approach,” he said on YouTube. “First quarter of the year, I tried to rest in peace my rage and my anger. Midway there in the summer, I became more confident. More loving, had more fun. Showed love to the gay community, no rapper’s doing that.”
But while celebrating the success of “Slut Me Out,” NLE was criticized for the overly sexual nature of the song, and at one point, he found himself in a debate over his sexuality. The 22-year-old rapper even revealed on YouTube he had thoughts of suicide during that time.
“I wanted to live out of love so deeply to where everything was resembling love,” he continued. With the internet speculating that NLE was homosexual, he decided to do what most rappers would say is unthinkable: embrace the LGBTQ+ community completely.
He tweeted “I’m coming out” on X back in September, but the rapper said everyone misinterpreted his intention. “The ‘I’m coming out’ comment was me coming out with a song. But spiritually, it was me coming out of my shell, out of my cocoon, and blossoming into the butterfly that God has been molding,” he said on YouTube.
Despite the hate he was receiving, Choppa stayed his path and even performed during Atlanta Pride Month, a move he said came strictly out of love. “Whether you’re a racist [or] if you walk a different life than me, I wanted to say ‘I don’t judge you. I love you, and I still appreciate you’ because I am no man to judge what you do,” the rapper said.
Now, the rapper is calling all of the hate and scrutiny he received a “humiliation ritual,” and according to NLE, he has passed the test.
“I pray that my diversity — my versatility — does not bring discomfort,” he closed out the video saying. But even if it does, NLE said he has perfected the art of simply not caring. “Respectfully, I won’t really give a f***,” he continued. Now, that’s the type of energy we need in 2025!