Choclair Interview - Thursday, November 16, 2000 at Upper Deck in Fredericton, NB
From Mastermind & Choclair’s Coast To Coast tour.
Interviewer: Troy Neilson
Interviewee: Choclair
Choclair: Hey you’re the guy from the newspaper right. Alright if we do the interview now?
Troy: Yeah, thanks. I appreciate this.
Choclair: No problem man…
Troy: So, what did you think of the crowd? Was it as hype as the last time you were in Fredericton?
Choclair: Ah, it was a little bit thinner. But you know what, it’s because of exams and school. But it was still good. I was definitely into it.
Troy: Did you go out of your way to make sure that Fredericton was on your tour?
Choclair: Oh yeah. That’s why I liked it with the tour shirts and all that. We made sure that we put Fredericton on there. Because the last time we came here, it was really good.
Troy: I don’t know if you remember or not, but I interviewed you last December.
Choclair: Not in Fredericton, no?
Troy: No, no… It was a phone interview. But I remember telling you that we needed hip hop lovin’ down here and we definitely appreciate you coming down here to put on a show.
Choclair: Cool.
Troy: Are you working on any new material?
Choclair: Yeah. We got a new record on the way.
Troy: Have you started working on it yet?
Choclair: Yeah. I’m four songs deep.
Troy: Can we expect some big-name collaborations on this album?
Choclair: Not necessarily some big collaborations, but just some decent ones.
Troy: Yeah cause since you dropped your album, you’ve collaborated with Rahzel on the Drop The Beat Soundtrack, Ol Dirty Bastard on “Suave Dirt Dogs” and Beenie Man on his bonus track…
Choclair: Yeah we did Rahzel, Beenie, Memphis, Guru. So we might see some more coming up. I’ve been able to make a little bit of connections with certain people, so we’ll see what happens.
Troy: I noticed there was some new material in your performance tonight…
Choclair: Yeah we did some new stuff. It’s like…
Troy: … new stuff to look forward to on your next album?
Choclair: Yeah, just to keep people saying “hey he’s got some new stuff happening.”
Troy: How well did the American release of your album sell in the States?
Choclair: It did really well. We set up a good foundation for my next record that’s coming up.
Troy: Did you feel that the 4 month delay between the release in Canada and the U.S. hurt you or did it help you?
Choclair: You know what, if anything it built up a good…
Troy: … a little bit of hype?
Choclair: Yeah, a good little bit of hype.
Troy: Was the Ol Dirty Bastard (“Suave Dirt Dogs”) track included on the U.S. release?
Choclair: We weren’t able to get that on the release. Hopefully we can get it on the next album because it hasn’t been released yet. Some people have heard it, but not everybody has heard it.
Troy: Yeah, I’ve heard it, but it’s real hard to find.
Choclair: We might try and put it on the next record. We have rights for it.
Troy: What about the remix for Flagrant? Do you have any plans for that track?
Choclair: Wow! You know what! I want something to happen with that, but we’ll see what happens.
Troy: Yeah, cause it’s hard to find. I had to go out of my way to hear it.
Choclair: When we did Flagrant the original, afterwards we redid the single and put out Flagrant with the remix on the flip side. They were very limited. So it didn’t really go everywhere.
(At this point, we were joined by two ladies, Kempuga Ruganda & her friend Sasha, who were interested in listening in on my conversation with Choclair)
Troy: What are your plans after this tour? Are you just heading to the studio?
Choclair: Just studio to work on my next record. I got a few groups with projects that I’m working on now. Solitair and a few other groups that I’m gonna put out. I’m just trying to build up the scene up here (in Canada). I got a distribution deal in Canada. I gotta work on one in the U.S. and try to make sure that people realize what we’ve got going on up here.
Troy: Do you think that “Bump!” (the new single off Mastermind’s album featuring Choclair) is going to promote it too?
Choclair: Oh yeah. It’s doing real well.
Troy: When Mastermind played “Bump!” tonight, I think it got one of the best reactions.
Choclair: The funny thing is that it’s doing better than I thought. When the song came out we thought it was an alright song. But the reaction that we’ve been getting is a bit more than what I expected.
Troy: I listened to Mastermind’s full album, and to me “Bump!” sounded like the best track. It’s definitely hot.
Choclair: That’s the thing that really threw me off. I knew it was alright, but I didn’t know people would take to the song the way that they’re taking to it right now. We’re going to shoot the video next Wednesday. Then the video will probably be out a week or two after the shoot.
Troy: And if it blows up like it should, it’d be great promotion. Then you’re album will come out while everybody’s still feeling ya. That’d be perfect.
Choclair: Yeah, that’s actually on Mastermind’s album, so it’ll help Mastermind even more. And then I’ll have my album out.
Troy: What do you think of Mastermind as a DJ?
Choclair: He’s dope. He’s been doing this for 13 years, so he’s been around and doing his thing for a long time.
Troy: Would you say he’s one of the more prominent DJ’s in Canada?
Choclair: Yeah. In Toronto, I don’t think anyone will ever say: “I don’t know who Mastermind is.” Everybody knows who he is.
Troy: A lot of people down here didn’t have a clue as to who he is…
Choclair: Yeah, that’s right, but that’s the whole thing with his record. It’s to let em know who he is.
Troy: Definitely with my interview with him, it ought to give him some publicity down here.
Choclair: It’s the situation where Mastermind is one of Toronto’s longest running DJ’s. Everybody respects what he’s been doing. He’s the first DJ to have a hip hop show on commercial radio.
Troy: Plus now he’s got the first mainstream hip hop mixtape in Canada.
Choclair: Yeah, plus unlike a lot of other records, his is mixed straight off the turntable.
Troy: I’ve heard some mixtapes like the one Mack 10 put out (‘Hoo Bangin: The Mix Tape Vol. 1’) and his DJ’s cut up the songs, but Mastermind’s smooth. And I liked that.
Choclair: Yeah.
Troy: Last time I interviewed you, I asked you if you could work with any producer at all who would it be. And you said Dr. Dre, Erick Sermon or DJ Premier. You said in during your show, that you’ve met Dre, but have you met or worked with the other two?
Choclair: I met Dre, I met Premier, and who was the third one?
Troy: Erick Sermon or Erick Onasis.
Choclair: Nah, I haven’t met Sermon.
Troy: Any chances that you might hook up with them for a track?
Choclair: You never know. That’s one of the things when you work on a new record. You never know. You might see some surprises happen and be saying: “What? He’s with who?”
Troy: Ah, that’d be nice.
Choclair: Right now we’re just working on some shit trying to make some things happen. At the same time I’m trying to represent where I’m from, Canada, 100 percent. Because we get respect for that around the world. You’re respecting where I’m from, you’re not trying to be in somewhere where you’re not.
Troy: When do you expect your next album to be released?
Choclair: Maybe like late summer, early fall of next year. Probably have a video out by June or so. A street single out by February. We’re just trying to work on some shit to get things happening.
Troy: What did you think of the Canadian Urban Music Awards?
Choclair: It was good. We were able to walk away with two awards. And you know…
Troy: It was a nice way to keep an ear to the ground without a focus on mainstream appeal.
Choclair: I’ve always done the type of music that I like. And I was just one of the lucky ones that ended up going to a mainstream type of quality. I like this, cause we’ve never done anything for the mainstream, we’ve always done things on the vibe that we’ve wanted to. That’s the cool thing. Most people realize that I’ve been doing the same type of tracks that I’ve been doing since 1995. I think that people are just getting onto it now. That’s cool because that’s what people like Redman, Biggie and Tupac were able to do. Hopefully I’ll follow in their footsteps.
Troy: It wouldn’t surprise me.
Choclair: It (Choclair’s style) is always gonna be that straight hip hop music.
Troy: Just out of curiosity, what’s your favorite track on the market right now?
(short thoughtful pause)
Choclair: You know I don’t necessarily have a favorite track because I like a lot of the tracks that I work with. I think one of my favorite artists right now is someone that is so underrated that many people haven’t even heard of him. It’s gonna be Kurupt. He’s from the LBC.
Troy: Yeah, his “Ride Wit Me” is one of the first tracks that I put on my mixtapes.
Choclair: He is so ill, but people don’t realize. When he was with the Dogg Pound, there was the whole Death Row (Records) situation. But now he’s solo and the whole Death Row portion is not there. If you pick up a Kurupt album and listen to what he’s saying…
Troy: “Fresh” off his double-album, I still remember that it was hot.
Choclair: Oh yeah, nah, nah, “Freak It.” That’s what you’re talking about.
Troy: Yeah, maybe… nah, I don’t think that was the track, but I know the one you’re talking about.
Choclair: “We can freak it. Freak if you want to…” Kurupt is the next guy. He’s my favorite artist.
Troy: Out of curiosity, have you ever heard of Mood Ruff from out in Peg City?
Choclair: I meet up with them a lot of times. They’re real cool. I talked with them when I went to Winipeg this year on this tour.
(at this point Kempuga Ruganda couldn’t her questions in any longer)
Kempuga Ruganda: Do you promote a lot of Canadian hip hop?
Choclair: Of course.
Troy: He’s like an ambassador (of Canadian hip hop).
Choclair: I realize that in certain situations I might be the one artist that most people identify from up in Canada, in terms of hip hop. So, sure I let people know what’s going on. A lot of the hip hop that’s coming out that I know is coming out from Toronto or whatever’s filtered into Toronto. I let people know, there’s a lot of groups in Toronto. I’ve been around the world in the past year. I was in Europe and people were saying: “yeah”. I was in France, and they were playing nothing but Canadian hip hop on their hip hop stations.
Kempuga Ruganda: Like Kardinal and…?
Choclair: Kardinal, Frankenstein, Saukrates, Brassmunk… A whole bunch of groups that probably a lot people haven’t even heard of. But they’re playing them over in France, England and Germany. And maybe I’m the only one they’re actually gonna know or relate to because I’m there and able to promote my work. That’s my thing. To let people know what’s going on.
Kempuga Ruganda: One thing I’ve noticed sometimes, like at your last concert, you were here with Solitair. Do you promote him so that he can come to the point where you are at now?
Choclair: Yeah, well…
Kempuga Ruganda: Are you guys tight?
Choclair: Oh yeah. We’ve been on the road and every show that I’ve done he’s been on it. So we’ve done 150 shows from last year November. And his record, the song that he did tonight, “No Doubt” is on my label. That’s one of the things I do. I promote him. That’s why whenever I’m on stage, I’m always saying, “Solitair, Solitair, Solitair.” It’s like with Lee Roy Brown. He’s a DJ, so that way you might get a DJ crew out here just to play a party. That’s what he does all his other time when he’s not on the road with me. He DJ’s.
Kempuga Ruganda: He does his own thing.
Choclair: Right. That’s why we let him play for a little bit after the show. That way you might order him back to play a whole party. He’ll come out here and you never know. He might just grab me to come play and get out.
(laughter)
Kempuga Ruganda: That’s really good. I like to see Canadian hip hop artists promote other Canadian hip hop artists. Cause the Canadian hip hop community has got to rise. It’s now time for us to rise.
Choclair: It’s all about the network. I work with a lot of groups I work with and there’s a lot of up & coming people that I haven’t heard of yet. That’s why when I finish off this tour and I go back to Toronto, I’m gonna hit the studio and start to record. It’s all about building it up and making things happen. That’s our main goal. For me, it’s all about a Canadian movement. That’s why I support it 100 percent.
Troy: Has Ice (Kevin “Ice” White, Virgin Records Promotion and National Street Team Co-Ordinator) played a pretty big part in the Canadian movement?
Choclair: Ice does my promotion for Virgin (Records). He started working for Virgin. We work together. I promote Mastermind who signed to Virgin. I’m with Virgin, so I help promote his record and anybody that I’m really tight with, like Monolith. Cause those are our allies. We have a lot of allies. And we just try to promote our allies. There are people who want to do it on their own, which is cool too. But the people that we work directly with, those are the people that we’re gonna support.
Kempuga Ruganda: What were you thinking when you recorded “Rubbin’” (the 2nd single off of Choclair’s last album)? Cause that is a sweet-ass song.
Choclair: When I was doing “Rubbin”…
Kempuga Ruganda: Cause I heard that there was a lot of shit that happened and a lot of people saying, “Why the hell is he recording that?”
Choclair: It’s cause it’s a little bit provocative…
Kempuga Ruganda: It’s not about that though.
Choclair: Well the main thing that happened with “Rubbin” was that it…
Kempuga Ruganda: Awesome song!
Choclair: Awesome song…Alright. “Rubbin” is a song that talks from a males perspective. The first verse is all about a guy meets a girl in a club. The first verse is all about a males perspective. Sometimes a woman is a little bit more cautious. Most woman aren’t the type to just dive into anything. They can be more emotional. The guy is telling the girl, “listen. It’s cool cause we’re both grown, we’re both adults, so whatever we agree on to do, we are both adults.” That’s why I say there ain’t nothing wrong with doing that when we’re adults. It’s not like we’re both 17.
Kempuga Ruganda: Do you find that a lot of woman get too emotionally involved?
Choclair: I think woman are just more emotional than guys. Most guys aren’t as emotional when it comes to being intimate. A lot of times, it’s like the guy has reached his peak before the woman.
(At this point, seeing as how the interview was swaying from the normal line of questioning and because it was approx 2:45 am, the tour manager for Choclair asked me to wrap up the interview. So I turned off the recorder. We continued to chat for another 45 minutes or so. The most notable fact that came out of the conversation is that Choclair has a seed planted in his head to someday write a book The plan for him, is when his career takes a plunge, he’ll hit everyone up with a book entitled ‘Choclair’s Memoirs,’ which will subsequently take him back up to the top.)