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When talented soul singer Choklate relocated to Seattle four years ago from Southern California, she immediately became involved with the local hiphop and R&B scene. I was born in Seattle, my family lives here, and so I got a truck, headed north, arrived at my brother's house, and there was a music studio in front of me... It all started in that studio."

Choklate's approach is not powerful or pop-polished, but rich, mature, and effortless. She's also a great songwriter, and has a knack for coming up with odd but catchy lines, such as the following untitled track from an unreleased collection called Hooks and Hits: "Please believe what you want to believe but leave me to do me & I'mma practice what I preach...Can't nobody do me better than me." Her brother produced and engineered her first record, Sound Sessions Vol. 1, which she claims was the incubator for her craft. "During the recording of that album, I was introduced to punctuality, professionalism, and the politics of the game. Mike D [My brother] made sure, musically, that I had a canvas to discover and work on my voice." She later met J Moore and Erica White of Jasiri Management ("One day they weren't there and then one day they were. I can't recall when we actually met") and then those who realized the possibilities within the city and circle she became involved in all took powerful roles in her career introducing her to the three of the most happening hiphop producers in Seattle: Vitamin D, BeanOne and Jake One. Along with her Nephew Kuddie Mak, Choklate found a sound that felt like home. The producers of her earliest artistically free created material, everything you'll hear on her debut album, are the people she has the most affection for. Family and friends alike... "Those are my dudes," she says with what can only be described as cool excitement. All of them have brought something different to the table for me, and I have grown immensly with all of them." . "All of the music that I make," she explains, "is from my soul. I'm a young lady and so the best thing to call it is Young Soul Music...all I need is my beat, that mic, the stage, a crowd and I'm good... Charles Mudede> The Stranger Music Columnist Amended by Choklate