City police show up at Choclair gig (17 photos)

Kareem Blake.

Suave Dawg.

Blake Savage.

Chox.

Whatever you choose to call him, Choclair is a supreme being in the world of Canadian hip-hop.

As the first-ever Canadian hip-hop artist to be signed to a major American label, Chox may feel the onus is on his shoulders to lead his colleagues into uncharted markets.

And he is doing all he can to make this a reality.

From his first release, Twenty One Years in 1995 on his own indie label, Kneedeep Records, he has been making waves and gaining acclaim.

He has worked with legends like Mix Master Mike, Guru, Xzibit, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Beenie Man.

In 1998, after winning two Juno Awards, a MuchMusic Award and releasing 11 records on his label, Chox felt it was time to expand and joined forces with Virgin Music.

His first joint venture with Virgin, Ice Cold went gold in 35 days.

Although he feels the experience he gained with a major label is invaluable, he has since reverted back to his grass roots approach and has now formed a new independent label, Suave Dawg Entertainment.

In addition, he owns and operates a recording studio which is open to the public and offers extremely reasonable rates in an effort to end the gun and gang violence in Toronto by giving troubled youth a place to creatively vent their frustrations.

And, providing a boost to all Torontonians, Chox is the creator of and a partner in Skyline, a Red Bull-like energy drink available only in Toronto and features the metropolitan skyline on the label.

He is also a partner in the first ever hip-hop radio station, Flava 107.9 in Winnipeg.

With all of this going on, it's no wonder he's been out of the stage light for the past couple of years.

But he's back.

Chox' appearance at Algoma University's Speakeasy featured the songs of his fifth and latest release, Flagship.

Accompanied by DJ Spence Diamond, the performance took the enthused audience through a virtual history lesson of black music.

From thumping, bass-driven beats to sexy soul groves, Spence provided the back drop for Chox' performance worthy of world-wide attention.

The hungry hip-hop lovers in attendance ate it up.

But the excitement began a bit prior to Chox' performance when members of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Department made an appearance.

They attended at Algoma University College just before 11 p.m. to investigate an allegation of marijuana use.

Some persons were detained.

The charge could not be substantiated and the individuals were released.

I suppose it wouldn't be a true hip-hop show without Mary Jane there.

Following the show, Chox made himself available for autographs, pictures and conversation.

His fans took full advantage of this.