Choklate

Choklate released her self-titled debut album Choklate on KSD Music. When Choklate relocated from Seattle to Southern California, she was a key contributor to the community of local hip-hop and R&B music goings on.

Choklate says, “I like to listen to Lauryn Hills first record, Maxwell’s first record, I’ll always enjoy Tony Toni Tone’s stuff, some of Jodeci’s first music, Mary J’s first few records were amazing to me, Van Hunts first record will always be a favorite of mine and a host of others that I can’t think of at the moment. I just love great music, period and I pray to be able to be placed amongst the ones that made and make great music as time goes on. I’m grateful to have been introduced to my destiny and I pray a lot that the creator keeps me and continues to allow me to make music that moves those who hear it. I hope to be mentioned, one day, as someone’s hero, but not for any vain reason but rather for my story, my survival, my honesty, my openness to share my struggles and life, my real life experiences and the lessons I learned from them. I’m promising myself to always make music from the soul and hopefully I’ll always be able to and allowed to do just that”

First Choklate’s brother Mike D recorded and produced (in his home studio), her first album/demo Sound Sessions Vol. 1. Seattle’s producers were introduced to her through her new management company but never showed up to meet her, such as Beat One, Jake One and Vitamin D, and later Choklate’s debut album was born.

“The reality hasn’t really weighed in yet because I’m still at home living a very normal life”, says Choklate.

“Working more than one regular job and just doing what I can do to pay my bills. I think Ill have a better idea of things once I begin to actually work more so with and in the musical side of my life. Right now, I don’t really know what its like, its still very much like my life before the record came out, a whole hell of a lot of hustling to maintain. I’m still working and just living a real regular life”

She expresses her main goals for the Choklate album, she says, “My main focus was really to just allow the music to write itself. To live life and let the experiences dictate the mood of the songs and the album. I hope the album contributes something positive to the world and some substance to the actual world of music, the scene”

“Of course! I’d LOVE to! Promoters that are interested in that should contact me to make it happen at booking@choklatemusic.com, for any inquiries”, admits Choklate about coming to perform in London.

She continues, “My band and I wait for the day that we can actually share how we feel about the music with the audiences that have responded so well to the record, you’ll LOVE the live show. I live to perform; I get something out of it every time I’m ever there with the crowd and their energy and the message in the music all into one experience and my band is super killer. Wed love to be where we know the music is more than the image. We love the appreciation that Europe and other places away from America have for real soul music. It’s a wonderful feeling to share our souls with people who appreciate soul music, really. It’s priceless. We yearn for that and hope it happens real soon” Though, like a lot of independent artists they have to struggle in order to be able to live and sing the songs. Choklate says, “Working a lot of jobs, trying to survive and find something that would make me happy enough to do for the rest of my life so I could find some sort of stability in our work driven environment”

I ask her the dreaded question of what would her life be like without music/would she live life without music?! Choklate replies, “HELL, I don’t know, don’t want to think about it, to be honest. It makes my heartbeat fast and my palms sweat. I couldn’t imagine life without music right now, AT ALL!”

Press have loved her debut album, the mixes of hip-hop, R&B vocals with classic soul grooves has proven to be a hit for Choklate. Even online websites have written many exciting reviews. “To my dismay, people have compared me to a lot of really great singers and though I feel like it’s a great compliment to be compared to them, Id hope that my own character and style outshines any familiarities between myself and the singing of any other artist”, says Choklate.

She continues, “I do definitely enjoy artists with great vocal prowess. The comparisons have never ceased to amaze and sort of scare me, so I mostly just try to just be myself, not purposely immolate anything or anybody and sing from the heart. Yes, I can rap, its fun, I’m not so good but it is fun and it is how I started out. I didn’t get to listen to what she had labeled, as ‘Worldly Music’. She was really religious and strict”

“The type of people I was raised around had a lot of rules about what was and wasn’t appropriate for a Christian person to be involved or surrounded by, such as soul music”, says Choklate. “Hell, any kind of music besides gospel was strictly forbidden. I used to have to sneak out and listen to other kinds of music and it wasn’t until DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince released Parents Just Don’t Understand, that we where allowed to listen to something different other than Gospel in our home and even then that was really the only song for a long time. By the time I had my own say in the matter. I had my ear to everything from jazz and R&B to Gangster Rap and Classical and everything in between. My first job I lied and said I was sixteen, so that I could work at the age of fourteen. At a call center for a radio station that played country music. They would have us call people and have them rate the country songs to figure out their play lists. I hated country music but it was a cool job to have now that I think back and I actually ended up really digging a lot of the music too, always such great story lines”

Choklate confesses her favorite aspects of being an independent record artist. “My favorite aspect in order are as follows: performing (primarily freestyle and impromptu creativity like jamming and improvisations are my most favorite (EVER). Creating, recording, and then the business, Actually, I don’t like the business of it all really but everything else is just peachy. I love being inspired by others too, that’s a dope aspect of it for me”

“I like nature, hiking, horseback riding, the sea, the ocean, I love nature. I love heights; fall is my favorite season, but when I’m not able to do those things I like reading, a good movie, a good meal, I am a homebody. I like subtle evenings without a lot of people and noise but I do like a good night out dancing, every now and then but not too often truthfully”, says Choklate.

This artists fusions of hip-hop and R&B may lack originality, but the way she does it is something you won’t have heard any where else. Rappers have mentioned that Choklate rap sings, like fellow artists Eric Roberson. Her over all approach to being creative: writing songs, making music, singing even to promoting her music through my space and keeping in contact with her fans.

Choklate is true to herself.

Email Interview by Matthew Daniel

Soulisms 2008