Kareem Blake (born March 27, 1975), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

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.

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 , motto_translation = Praised be Jesus Christ , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , founded = , schoolboard = Toronto Catholic District School Board , superintendent = Ryan Peterson , trustee = Nancy Crawford , number = 531 / 75153 ...

, 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 Jully Black (born Jullyann Inderia Gordon Black, November 8, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and actress. She has collaborated and written for many artists, including Nas, Saukrates, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Destiny's Child ...

. ''What It Takes'' won the " Best Rap Recording" award at the 1997 Juno Awards. By 1998, Choclair had released eleven records, including the first international releases for Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall,

, 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 Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

s and a MuchMusic Video Award, and achieved lasting popularity among Canadian hip hop fans and has been labelled by critics as a "hiphop anthem". 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. The album was certified gold in Canada (50,000 copies)"Retrospective Reviews: Choclair’s ‘Ice Cold'"
''Chart Attack'', Review by Shawn Despres and spawned the hit single " Let's Ride", produced by Kardinal Offishall. Let's Ride reached #38 on the Canadian '' RPM'' Singles Chart. ''Ice Cold'' won the Juno award for "Best Rap Recording" in 2000. Later that year, "Let's Ride" won a SOCAN award and a MuchMusic award. He was presented with a 2001 Urban Music award from SOCAN. Also in 2001 he opened the Music Without Borders concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. On March 5, 2002, Choclair released his next album, ''Memoirs of Blake Savage'', which included a lot of drug-related lyrics. 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. 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 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Juno ...

ceremony. Also in 2018, Choclair joined

Classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...

and Maestro Fresh-Wes on the "Canadian Classic Tour"."HIP-HOP LEGENDS CLASSIFIED, CHOCLAIR AND MAESTRO VISIT THE CAPITAL FOR CANADIAN CLASSIC TOUR"
''Shifter Magazine'', Oct 15, 2018

Discography

Albums

*'' Ice Cold'' (1999) *''Memoirs of Blake Savage'' (2002) *''Flagrant'' (2003) *''My Demo'' (2003) *''Flagship'' (2006)

EPs

*'' What It Takes'' (1997)

Singles

References

External links

Choclair's Official WebsiteChoclair
at MySpace
Smooth as Choclair
— Canadian hip hop artist reveals the secrets of seduction — by Denise Ing, Varsity Staff
Word Magazine ArticleNOW Magazine ArticleChoclair Brings Canadian Hip-Hop On U.S. Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choclair 1975 births Living people People from Scarborough, Toronto Canadian people of Jamaican descent Black Canadian musicians Canadian male rappers Rappers from Toronto Priority Records artists Virgin Records artists Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year winners 20th-century Canadian rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians