Choclair

Last updated
Choclair
Birth nameKareem Blake
Also known asChox, Chiznock, Blake Savage
Born (1975-03-27) March 27, 1975 (age 48)
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres Canadian hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper
Years active1995–present
Labels Knee Deep Records, Virgin Records, Priority Records, Greenhouse Music
Website Official Website

Kareem Blake (born March 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He was one of the most successful Canadian rappers in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards, winning four. [1]

Contents

Career

Blake, of Jamaican descent, was born in Scarborough, Ontario, in east Toronto. Starting at the age of 11, he followed in his older brother's footsteps, and decided to become a rapper. Blake attended St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School, which is when he first started performing under the name "Choclair". In 1995, he released his debut single, "Twenty One Years", on his own independent label, Knee Deep Records. In 1997, he released the EP What It Takes , which was accompanied by a music video featuring Jully Black. What It Takes won the "Best Rap Recording" award at the 1997 Juno Awards. [1] By 1998, Choclair had released eleven records, including the first international releases for Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, Solitair, Marvel, and Tara Chase from Toronto's music scene.

Choclair, with the Rascalz, contributed to the hip hop song "Northern Touch", which received two Juno Awards and a MuchMusic Video Award, and achieved lasting popularity among Canadian hip hop fans and has been labelled by critics as a "hiphop anthem". [2]

Choclair then expanded his team and joined Virgin Music Canada in July 1998. In 1999, he signed with Priority Records, and released his debut album Ice Cold , produced by Saukrates. [3] [4] The album was certified gold in Canada (50,000 copies) [5] [6] and spawned the hit single "Let's Ride", produced by Kardinal Offishall. Let's Ride reached #38 on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart. [7]

Ice Cold won the Juno award for "Best Rap Recording" in 2000. [8] Later that year, "Let's Ride" won a SOCAN award and a MuchMusic award. [9] He was presented with a 2001 Urban Music award from SOCAN. [10] Also in 2001 he opened the Music Without Borders concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. [11]

On March 5, 2002, Choclair released his next album, Memoirs of Blake Savage, which included a lot of drug-related lyrics. [12] He released the single "Skunk" from that album, which featured Kurupt of Tha Dogg Pound.

After parting ways with Virgin Music, Choclair started his own independent label Greenhouse Music in partnership with Sextant Records/EMI Music Canada. On June 17, 2003, he released the album Flagrant, which won a Juno Award as best rap recording in 2004. [13] He also released other Canadian hip hop albums in conjunction with Sextant Records and EMI. Greenhouse followed that with the release of My Demo, a collection of Choclair's early underground recordings.

In 2006, Choclair released the album, Flagship. He was also featured on Karl Wolf's single, "Desensitize".

In 2018, Choclair and other members of the team who recorded "Northern Touch" performed the song at the 2018 Juno Awards ceremony. [14] Also in 2018, Choclair joined Classified and Maestro Fresh-Wes on the "Canadian Classic Tour". [15]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

  • "Twenty One Years"
  • "What It Takes"
  • "So I" (Frankenstein featuring Choclair)
  • "Internal Affairs"
  • "Flagrant"
  • "Let's Ride"
  • "Rubbin'"
  • "Light It Up"
  • "Skunk"
  • "Who Dat Is (Chiznock Pt. II)"
  • "Skyline"
  • "Tell 'Em"
  • "Desensitize" (Karl Wolf featuring Choclair)
  • "Weekend" (Karl Wolf featuring Choclair)
  • "Sunshine (These Are the Days)"
  • "The Essence"
  • "Made (Move Mountains)"
  • "T-Dot"
  • "Hurt Everybody" (with Classified)
  • "Good Vibes" (Count Klassy featuring Choclair)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian hip hop</span> Music genre

The Canadian hip hop scene was established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much slower than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Touch</span> 1998 single by Rascalz featuring Kardinal Offishall, Checkmate, Thrust and Choclair

"Northern Touch" is a Canadian hip hop single, which was released in 1998 by Rascalz in collaboration with Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust and Choclair. It is one of the most important individual songs in the history of Canadian hip hop, which almost singlehandedly transformed the genre from a largely ignored underground movement into a viable commercial endeavour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kardinal Offishall</span> Canadian rapper, record producer and DJ

Jason Drew Harrow, better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall, is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's "hip hop ambassador", he is regarded as one of the country's best hip hop producers, and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rascalz</span> Canadian hip-hop group

Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop as well as specifically for the Westcoast scene in Vancouver popularizing the term “Van City”. The group consists of emcees Red1 and Misfit, and record producer DJ Kemo. Breakdancers Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.

Melanie Durrant is a Canadian urban contemporary-style singer. She attended the Arts program at Earl Haig Secondary School and also trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Melanie Durrant has received multiple accolades throughout her career. She was nominated in several categories at the 2004 Canadian Urban Music Awards and at the MuchMusic Video Awards. Melanie Durrant has collaborated with artists such as Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, Common and Slakah The Beatchild. She has shared the stage alongside Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Jill Scott and Sean Paul.

<i>Ice Cold</i> 1999 studio album by Choclair

Ice Cold is the debut studio album of Canadian rapper Choclair, released November 2, 1999 in Canada and March 14, 2000 in the United States. It was released on major label Virgin/Priority Records. The album's early success was driven by the first single, "Let's Ride", which reached #37 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and #38 on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart. The second single, "Rubbin'", features Saukrates.

Tone Mason is a Canadian hip-hop and R&B production team from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Mellenius, Don D, and formerly, Aloysius Brown. Tone Mason speaks to a deep-rooted dedication to craftsmanship, quality and originality. With over 15 years of experience in the music industry as a collective, they have contributed their eclectic brand of music to MuchMusic & MuchVibe, Barbershop: The Next Cut, BET, EA Sports, Russell Peters' Red, White and Brown and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solitair</span> Musical artist

Sheldon Pitt, better known by his stage name Solitair, is a Canadian rapper and record producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is a founding member of the now defunct Black Jays record label and production team. Solitair has been producing hip hop and R&B for nearly 20 years, and has produced for Nina Sky, Glenn Lewis, Cham, Maestro, Rascalz, Kardinal Offishall, Ivana Santilli, Jully Black, Choclair, and Sugar Jones among others.

<i>Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1</i> 2001 studio album by Kardinal Offishall

Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall. It was released on MCA Records, his first album for a major label. It is a recompilation album, which includes older songs and demos that he used to get signed. The lead single, "BaKardi Slang", became his first single to appear on a Billboard chart. The second single, "Ol' Time Killin'", was a minor hit. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics.

Knee Deep Records was a Canadian independent record label, specializing in hip hop music.

<i>Cash Crop</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Rascalz

Cash Crop is an album by the Canadian hip hop group Rascalz, released in 1997 on ViK. Recordings. The album is the group's most successful record to date and was certified gold by CRIA with sales of over 50,000 copies across Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Ride (Choclair song)</span> 1999 single by Choclair

"Let's Ride" is the first single from Canadian rapper Choclair's debut album, Ice Cold. Produced by Kardinal Offishall, the song features ad-libs by Saukrates. The song is well known for its catchy piano hook and chorus. Commercially, "Let's Ride" reached number 38 in Canada and number 37 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart.

<i>Husslin</i> 2000 EP by Kardinal Offishall

Husslin' is an EP by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, released independently on April 11, 2000, on Figure IV Entertainment, and distributed by Fat Beats Records in the United States. The title track, "Husslin'", was one of the hottest 12" singles of 2000. "And What?", featuring Saukrates, was released as a single in 1999. "Husslin'" and "Mic T.H.U.G.S." also appear on Kardinal's second studio album, Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1. An updated version of "U R Ghetto When", known as "U R Ghetto 2002", is on the Quest for Fire album.

Da Grassroots is a Canadian hip-hop production team from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Mr. Attic, Mr. Murray, and Swiff. The Juno Award-winning group contributed to the development of Toronto hip-hop throughout the 1990s, highlighted by the release of their debut album Passage Through Time in 1999.

Roger Perryman, better known as Mr. Attic, is a Canadian hip-hop producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is a member of Juno Award-winning production team, Da Grassroots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On wit da Show</span> 1997 single by Kardinal Offishall

"On wit da Show" is a hip-hop song by Kardinal Offishall. It was the only single from his debut album Eye & I. The song also appears on his second album, Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1. The original version of the song was released in 1996 as a B-side of "Naughty Dread". In 1997 Kardinal recorded a remix of the original, which was released as a single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naughty Dread</span> 1996 single by Kardinal Offishall

"Naughty Dread" is a hip-hop song by Kardinal Offishall. It is his debut single, released in 1996 on Knee Deep Records, before being featured on the Rap Essentials Volume One compilation album. The song contains a sample of "Natty Dread" by Bob Marley & The Wailers. It earned him a Juno Award nomination for Best Rap Recording in 1997.

Baby Blue Soundcrew was a Canadian DJ group from Toronto, Ontario, specializing in hip-hop and R&B music. The group was composed of Kid Kut, KLC, C-Boogie, and Singlefoot. They are notable for releasing two commercially successful compilation albums in 2000 and 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money Jane</span> 2000 single by Baby Blue Soundcrew featuring Kardinal Offishall, Sean Paul, and Jully Black

"Money Jane" is a song recorded by Canadian DJ group Baby Blue Soundcrew featuring Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, Jamaican musician Sean Paul, and Canadian singer-songwriter Jully Black. It was released by Universal Music Canada in 2000, and was the first single from the group's debut studio compilation album Private Party Collectors Edition; a remix was included on Offishall's 2001 album Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1. "Money Jane" is a Canadian hip hop and dancehall song with lyrics about a wealthy woman who provides financial and material support for her male companion. The song is noted for its influence on Toronto's hip hop music scene, and is credited with launching Paul's international music career.

IRS, an initialism for Instinctive Reaction to Struggle, was a Canadian hip hop band from Toronto, Ontario, active in the early 2000s. They are most noted for their 2003 album Welcome to Planet IRS, which received a Juno Award nomination for Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2004.

References

  1. 1 2 "PAST NOMINEES + WINNERS". junoawards.ca. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Why Northern Touch still matters: Twenty years later, the Canadian hip-hop anthem means more than just beats and rhymes". NOW Toronto, by Del F. Cowie, March 7, 2018
  3. ↑ "Retrospective Reviews: Choclair’s ‘Ice Cold'". NOISEY, by Ian McBride, Oct 9 2014
  4. ↑ "Choclair Ice Cold". AllMusic Review by Matt Conaway
  5. ↑ "Gold Platinum Database: Choclair". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  6. ↑ "Retrospective Reviews: Choclair’s ‘Ice Cold'". Chart Attack, Review by Shawn Despres
  7. ↑ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
  8. ↑ "Alanis, BSB, Shania, Chantal Take Junos Home". Mar 13, 2000. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  9. ↑ Chinta Puxley (Sep 22, 2000). "Matthew Good Band good enough to claim a pair of MuchMusic awards". The Hamilton Spectator.
  10. ↑ "The Guess Who, Murray McLauchlan Win Big At SOCAN". Chart Attack, November 20, 2001
  11. ↑ "LIVE: Music Without Borders". Chart Attack, October 22, 2001. Review by Paul Gangadeen
  12. ↑ "CHOCLAIR Memoirs Of Blake Savage". NOW Magazine, by Tim Perlich, March 7, 2002
  13. ↑ "CARAS Scores A Hit With 2004 Juno Awards" Archived 2016-08-15 at the Wayback Machine . Soul Shine. 2004-04-05
  14. ↑ "'Look what my daddy did!': Northern Touch All-Stars on representing rap and fatherhood at the Junos". CBC News, March 28, 2018
  15. ↑ "HIP-HOP LEGENDS CLASSIFIED, CHOCLAIR AND MAESTRO VISIT THE CAPITAL FOR CANADIAN CLASSIC TOUR". Shifter Magazine, Oct 15, 2018
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.