Choclair facts for kids

Kareem Blake (born March 27, 1975) is a Canadian rapper. He is better known by his stage name, Choclair. He became one of Canada's most successful rappers. This was during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards. He has won four of these important awards.

Choclair's Music Journey

Starting Out in Scarborough

Kareem Blake was born in Scarborough, Ontario. This area is in eastern Toronto. When he was 11 years old, he decided to become a rapper. He was inspired by his older brother.

Choclair started performing while in high school. He attended St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School. In 1995, he released his very first song. It was called "Twenty One Years." He put it out on his own record label, Knee Deep Records.

Early Success and Awards

In 1997, Choclair released an EP. An EP is like a mini-album. It was titled What It Takes. This EP included a music video. It featured Canadian singer Jully Black.

What It Takes won a big award. It received the "Best Rap Recording" at the 1997 Juno Awards. By 1998, Choclair had released many records. He helped other Toronto artists get their first international releases. These artists included Saukrates and Kardinal Offishall.

Joining Forces for "Northern Touch"

Choclair also worked with the group Rascalz. They created the famous hip hop song "Northern Touch". This song became very popular. Many Canadian hip hop fans still love it. Critics even called it a "hip hop anthem."

"Northern Touch" won two Juno Awards. It also won a MuchMusic Video Award. This song helped make Canadian hip hop known.

Signing with Major Labels

In 1998, Choclair joined Virgin Music Canada. Then, in 1999, he signed with Priority Records. He released his first full album, Ice Cold. The album was produced by Saukrates.

Ice Cold was a big hit in Canada. It sold over 50,000 copies. This made it a "gold" album. The album also had a popular song called "Let's Ride". Kardinal Offishall produced this song. "Let's Ride" reached number 31 on the Canadian radio charts.

More Awards and New Ventures

Ice Cold won the Juno Award for "Best Rap Recording" in 2000. Later that year, "Let's Ride" won two more awards. It received a SOCAN award and a MuchMusic award. Choclair also received an Urban Music award in 2001.

After working with Virgin Music, Choclair started his own label. It was called Greenhouse Music. He partnered with Sextant Records and EMI Music Canada. In 2003, he released the album Flagrant. This album won a Juno Award in 2004. It was named Best Rap Recording.

Greenhouse Music also released My Demo. This album was a collection of Choclair's early songs. In 2006, Choclair released another album, Flagship. He also appeared on Karl Wolf's song, "Desensitize."

Recent Performances

In 2018, Choclair performed "Northern Touch" again. He sang it at the 2018 Juno Awards ceremony. Other artists from the original song joined him. Also in 2018, Choclair went on tour. He joined Classified and Maestro Fresh-Wes. The tour was called the "Canadian Classic Tour."

Choclair's Music Albums

Studio Albums

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

Extended Plays (EPs)

• What It Takes (1997)

Singles (Songs)