Choklate

Choklate is already taking her place along side soul luminaries like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Conya Doss, Hil St. Soul, India.Arie, Leela James, to name a few. Her songwriting, her depth and her delivery has captured the hearts, ears and minds of listeners around the world. The soul is deep, the experiences are real, the beats are progressive and the production is sharp and clean. One listen to this record and you'll understand the lady behind the voice and the lyrics. Every track is pure heart and soul. Choklate covers the gamut of emotions as she sings of love, life, gratitude, dedication to the music and that higher power that is 'Bigger Than You'......and Me. ~T. Freeman - On The Verge - T. Freeman

Choklate is already taking her place along side soul luminaries like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Conya Doss, Hil St. Soul, India.Arie, Leela James, to name a few. Her songwriting, her depth and her delivery has captured the hearts, ears and minds of listeners around the world. The soul is deep, the experiences are real, the beats are progressive and the production is sharp and clean. One listen to this record and you'll understand the lady behind the voice and the lyrics. Every track is pure heart and soul. Choklate covers the gamut of emotions as she sings of love, life, gratitude, dedication to the music and that higher power that is 'Bigger Than You'......and Me. ~T. Freeman - On The Verge - T. Freeman

Choklate came up wearing a black blouse, jeans and a funky “soul-cap” that crowned her braids. She claimed to be “really nervous” but that didn’t stop her from promptly going into funk mode with her song, “Never Leave.” She and the band were blending so well and the crowd was head nodding and finger snapping. Her strong alto voice and warm smile captured the hearts of anyone within earshot of her flow. For someone who claimed to be “nervous” her delivery was controlled, powerful and sincere. When she sang “Heavy” the band was killing it in a way that didn’t outshine her lyrics (big ups to whoever did there sound mixing!). This is when she disclosed that the band was local area cats who had just learned her music the day before and they hadn’t rehearsed with her at all. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the sign of true musicianship. You would have thought they traveled with her all the time. It was reminiscent of the old jazz days when people just fell through and improvised on each other’s shows. I have mad respect for the keyboard player, drummer and bass guitarist. My respect for Choklate increased exponentially in how she trusted the band, her promoter and the audience to ride with her as she poured out her heart in some of the most prolific compositions in neo-soul and music in general. ~by JayQ - Friday Fave Case - JayQ

Choklate came up wearing a black blouse, jeans and a funky “soul-cap” that crowned her braids. She claimed to be “really nervous” but that didn’t stop her from promptly going into funk mode with her song, “Never Leave.” She and the band were blending so well and the crowd was head nodding and finger snapping. Her strong alto voice and warm smile captured the hearts of anyone within earshot of her flow. For someone who claimed to be “nervous” her delivery was controlled, powerful and sincere. When she sang “Heavy” the band was killing it in a way that didn’t outshine her lyrics (big ups to whoever did there sound mixing!). This is when she disclosed that the band was local area cats who had just learned her music the day before and they hadn’t rehearsed with her at all. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the sign of true musicianship. You would have thought they traveled with her all the time. It was reminiscent of the old jazz days when people just fell through and improvised on each other’s shows. I have mad respect for the keyboard player, drummer and bass guitarist. My respect for Choklate increased exponentially in how she trusted the band, her promoter and the audience to ride with her as she poured out her heart in some of the most prolific compositions in neo-soul and music in general. ~by JayQ - Friday Fave Case - JayQ

Gary Bannister, artistic director of Jazz Alley, said he heard Choklate's music on a local radio show. "I immediately recognized the quality of her production and thought it would be something that might help Jazz Alley move into a new arena of presenting," Bannister said, via e-mail. "It's a win-win for everyone, she gets a nice venue, we get a rising star that's going to bring a whole new audience to Jazz Alley."
~by Tom Scanlon - Seattle Times

Gary Bannister, artistic director of Jazz Alley, said he heard Choklate's music on a local radio show. "I immediately recognized the quality of her production and thought it would be something that might help Jazz Alley move into a new arena of presenting," Bannister said, via e-mail. "It's a win-win for everyone, she gets a nice venue, we get a rising star that's going to bring a whole new audience to Jazz Alley."
~by Tom Scanlon - Seattle Times

Choklate’s website poses a question that I oftentimes ask myself, “What ever happened to good music?” Well, after listening to Choklate’s self-titled debut album and her recent release, To Whom It May Concern (featured as a CD of the Week in June), I’m convinced that good music is still around. Choklate has performed across the U.S. and Europe and her songs have captured a variety of audiences. Whether you like jazz, soul, r&b, or even hip hop music, I’m certain that her albums will offer you something good. This week I had the opportunity to ask Choklate a few questions about her music and experiences as an independent artist. ~ Mimi Soul - Finding the B Side - Mimi Soul

To Whom It May Concern is an album that can be played from beginning to end thanks to a varied set of tracks that moves from beat-centric hip-hop flavored soul to sultry ballads. It all blends together for a seamless experience. Production by Vitamin D and Jake One adds a healthy dose of progressive beats to the proceedings. Tracks like the title track and “Hunny’s Runnin” sizzle with furious percussion and chunky drums. In fact, the whole project has a head-nodding effect on the listener, thanks to a focus on mid to uptempo grooves. But what makes the whole project work is the synthesis of the production and lyrical content. Choklate’s words rarely settle on tired cliches of love, instead focusing on self reflection, politics, humility and her place in the world. ~ Norman Mayers - Norman Mayers

To Whom It May Concern is an album that can be played from beginning to end thanks to a varied set of tracks that moves from beat-centric hip-hop flavored soul to sultry ballads. It all blends together for a seamless experience. Production by Vitamin D and Jake One adds a healthy dose of progressive beats to the proceedings. Tracks like the title track and “Hunny’s Runnin” sizzle with furious percussion and chunky drums. In fact, the whole project has a head-nodding effect on the listener, thanks to a focus on mid to uptempo grooves. But what makes the whole project work is the synthesis of the production and lyrical content. Choklate’s words rarely settle on tired cliches of love, instead focusing on self reflection, politics, humility and her place in the world. ~ Norman Mayers - Norman Mayers

Choklate’s previous UK show was an energetic acoustic set, successfully adapting her sample-heavy compositions to the unplugged sound. However this time with a full band, the live Choklate experience was taken to another level. As with most artists promoting a new-ish album I anticipated that Choklate would neglect material from her debut to focus on To Whom... but I was pleasantly surprised. Her set got off to a cracking start with ‘Never Change’ – one of the many gems from Choklate. This was swiftly followed by the brilliant ‘Incredible’ – which is the closest thing to a personal anthem from the Seattle native. With the recognition of each track a handful of hardcore Choklate fans unreservedly showed their approval, singing along enthusiastically. Choklate herself never sounded so good, her vocals as effortlessly gorgeous live as on wax. She has an undeniable gift for improvisation – from her wonderful ad-libs to even, on occasion, busting a rap-freestyle or two. Her charismatic stage presence is the icing on the cake; whether it is sharing in the middle of the inspirational ‘Bigger Than You’ how her Christian faith helps her overcome her insecurities or joking that as a single lady she lives her love life vicariously through couples responding well to the baby-maker ‘Grown Folks’. ~ Soulculture, UK - Soulculture, UK

Choklate’s previous UK show was an energetic acoustic set, successfully adapting her sample-heavy compositions to the unplugged sound. However this time with a full band, the live Choklate experience was taken to another level. As with most artists promoting a new-ish album I anticipated that Choklate would neglect material from her debut to focus on To Whom... but I was pleasantly surprised. Her set got off to a cracking start with ‘Never Change’ – one of the many gems from Choklate. This was swiftly followed by the brilliant ‘Incredible’ – which is the closest thing to a personal anthem from the Seattle native. With the recognition of each track a handful of hardcore Choklate fans unreservedly showed their approval, singing along enthusiastically. Choklate herself never sounded so good, her vocals as effortlessly gorgeous live as on wax. She has an undeniable gift for improvisation – from her wonderful ad-libs to even, on occasion, busting a rap-freestyle or two. Her charismatic stage presence is the icing on the cake; whether it is sharing in the middle of the inspirational ‘Bigger Than You’ how her Christian faith helps her overcome her insecurities or joking that as a single lady she lives her love life vicariously through couples responding well to the baby-maker ‘Grown Folks’. ~ Soulculture, UK - Soulculture, UK