All about flavour: Chop.Life is serving up amapiano heat to Merseyside's vibe-hungry underground

Functions is our monthly interview series profiling parties from across the world. Up next: Chop.Life.

In the ever-evolving landscape of Liverpool's nightlife, a transformative force is at play, reshaping the city's party scene for the better.

Crafted by the visionary DJ Papu Raf, who was raised in Bolton but firmly rooted in Liverpool's vibrant music scene, Chop.Life is more than just another night out—it's history in the making. The nascent club night defies the boundaries of conventional club norms, offering a space where freedom reigns and judgement is left at the door.

With an ongoing influx of student nights and hen or stag parties, Liverpool is in a constant state of change. The demand for a sense of stability is becoming paramount for marginalised groups, who are offered fewer dedicated spaces in the city. Enter 24 Kitchen Street, Chop.Life's resident space providing a comforting refuge for those looking to escape the fleeting nature of the city's nightlife. It’s within these walls where music is no longer just background noise, instead transforming into a powerful outlet for expression. From the infectious rhythms of amapiano to the heavy beats of baile funk, the wide-ranging music selection mirrors the melting pot of cultures that converge under one roof.

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Immersed in Liverpool's eclectic music scene and inspired by his Ivorian heritage, Papu Raf's vision for Chop.Life transcends entertainment. "At its core, Chop.Life is about freedom," he explains. “It's great, it's bright, it's colourful, it's lovely. We just need people to understand it, so that they can be part of it. In the sense of creating a community and a space where people feel that they belong, and where they can feel free.”

Off the back of yet another successful event in March, we caught up with Chop.Life founder Papu Raf to uncover the essence of Chop.Life, and what draws partygoers back time and time again. Check it out below.

What is Chop.Life and what inspired its creation?

Chop.Life is a space where you can feel free. Working in club scenes, I noticed a lot of patterns that I didn’t really flow with in terms of feeling free and enjoying the music. There was a lot of judgement in these spaces, and it didn’t feel welcoming.

My whole idea was that as an individual, we’re all going through our ups and downs, so from that, we can understand another individual in front of us. This space is not one where we judge each other, we’re just here to release and enjoy. With that in mind, people come through and express themselves through the movement and feeling of the music. That's the beauty of it - everyone can feel free, dance, and enjoy the music, and that’s beautiful.

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How did you make your idea a reality?

Before Chop.Life, I’d never really done events before. I knew some people who DJ’d already, so I asked them to get involved, a good friend of mine and an incredible DJ, Sticky Dub, being one of them.

I got in touch with the owner of Arts Bar on Hope Street. We had a little chat and discussed the idea of Chop.Life and inviting people to come and enjoy the sounds of amapiano and other magical genres, and luckily he understood the idea and what it was all about.

At first, we had to put it out there as it was, which was a platform for people to come through and enjoy music that wasn't usually played in the mainstream scenes. With where we were, and how we were starting, it was hard to reach people. But through word of mouth, we’ve been getting there. It struggled, but we’re finally finding our feet.

Who came up with the name and what does it mean?

In Nigerian slang ‘chop’ means ‘to eat’, and I was like: ‘chop life, eat life before life eats you’. It made sense, and I thought, yeah, we’ll go with that, because that is the idea of Chop.Life.

I came up with that name during lockdown - it was a time when we weren't allowed to go outside, express ourselves, be ourselves, and just enjoy life. In this life that we're given, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy it. We just have to enjoy this life before this life enjoys you.

What was the first ever Chop.Life like in comparison to now? What has changed?

The first Chop.Life was really magical. There wasn't any budget really, and it was free entry. It was at Arts Bar on Hope Street, but now we run events at 24 Kitchen Street. I had to make sure I was capturing everything because I thought, if this goes well, it would be nice to show people who weren’t there what they’d missed out on and what it was about.

In comparison to where it is now, the genres that we play are still the same. There are some core ‘Chop.Lifers’, and by that, I mean people who have been here from the beginning and are still here today. The vibe is reaching different corners of the city and new people are still hearing about it, which is amazing.

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Walking into Chop.Life for the first time, what can someone expect?

I think as soon as you walk through the door, we like to create a welcoming environment where people feel connected and part of something. I'm always present and moving around, even though I’m DJing and overseeing the event. Although I’m supposed to be behind the decks, I’m also on the mic, I’m also dancing with the audience, I’m also engaging with the crowd. I’m finding out how people are feeling whilst they’re in the dance and if there’s anything they need. I think this just gives a little bit of reassurance that it’s a safe space and everyone is there for everyone.

Why is amapiano special to you?

It's the sounds we started with, the sounds that we promoted, and the sounds that weren't too popular in the streets at the time. Chop.Life is where you could hear amapiano, and we had DJs who were willing to add a little bit of flavour and bring a little bit of knowledge to the dancefloor. But yeah, with the log drums, the little bells, oh my days. It’s just different in its own way.

Out of all the Chop.Life parties you’ve held, have you had a favourite?

I think every Chop.Life has been a memorable one. We’ve built it from the ground up, and I’ve enjoyed that experience and seeing the growth. It's always memorable because I'm learning from it day in and day out.

What sort of music can people expect at Chop.Life?

I understand that everyone comes to the scene for different reasons and different sounds, so what I like to do is to feed everyone there. I like to call the DJs the ‘Chefs’, because they are literally mixing things up. They're mixing their ingredients, they know exactly what to bring to the stage and how to make the people move. Some of our Chefs are: Amber Rose, LanceyPioneer, Sharan, Onyx.tbh, yeahitsrenee, Soulfultiz, and Don Doopy as our host.

I wanted people to tap into different genres, not just amapiano. Chop.Life is about flavour, that’s what we do. You can’t just have salt as your seasoning, you have to mix things up. So of course, we play amapiano, but we also play dancehall, Afrobeat, garage, house, soulful house, R&B, baile funk and much, much more. We have different DJs who tap into these sounds and bring them to life. That’s what I love about it, they take care.

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How do you balance staying true to your vision with Chop.Life while adapting to feedback and changing trends?

I try to stay true to my vision with Chop.Life. Getting feedback is a hard one because I know exactly what I want, and I want to keep that alive because Chop.Life has always been doing its own thing. If I were to put certain rules on it, it would take the fuel away from it.

The feedback is always helpful in a sense. It usually comes from people close to us, and it's always ideas on how we can make things bigger and better. I’m sharing this space with people that I care about and love, and I’m always open to their ideas because I know that they will share that same love for Chop.Life. It might be things I'm not experienced in, but as long as it helps to build Chop.Life positively, I'm open to it.

How do you recharge and find motivation when faced with challenges or burnout?

That's a hard one because even though I'm a lively character, sometimes it takes a lot to recharge. I spend a lot of time on my own. I like to watch colourful things like cartoons, and they generate colourful thoughts in my head. This usually leads to me drawing up a sketch or something like that, and from there it can trigger an idea and I’ll be like: ‘Okay, boom, this is exactly what's happening’.

I feel like once I tap into the spirit of creating an image for Chop.Life, I automatically have the energy for Chop.Life as a whole, straight away. That’s a buzz right there.

Are there any people or DJs who inspire you?

The people who are creating the sounds that are played at Chop.Life are my biggest inspiration right now. When I went to Afro Nation, I watched Major League Djz do their thing and that opened my eyes. I brought back four different tracks for Chop.Life. Sometimes I can spend maybe 6 to 8 hours watching YouTube videos of South African DJs just doing their thing. So these are the places I go to for that inspiration.

What advice would you give to others who are trying to create similar community-driven projects or events like Chop.Life?

The one piece of advice I can give is to know what your goal is. No matter what, always stick to your goal. It can be really, really hard, but make sure you have people around you who will always support your dreams and your ideas. You just need to stay religious with it and maintain that belief in yourself, because that's where the motivation comes from. Once you start doing it, eventually people around you will have no choice but to support you if they weren't initially.

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As Chop.Life continues to evolve, what do you envision for its future?

To travel internationally - taking what we do at 24 Kitchen Street in Liverpool to a worldwide stage. I feel like the things we're creating on these dancefloors and in these spaces needs to reach a lot of people. I also want to be involved and engage with more artists who play or create amapiano music. If Chop.Life were to happen in South Africa, that would be special.

I feel like funding will help to elevate this as well. It's about looking at different ways to reach new audiences, to be able to put in bids for funding and put that back into the event so that we can expand. I want to get involved with different activities, exhibitions, events and collaborations. Small small is the term that I always use but level by level, we're gonna get it right.

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Mia Thornton is a freelance journalist, follow her on Instagram