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Blessed with a warm, inviting tone, Choklate's voice has graciously grown raspier and more fluid over these last three years. As I learned at the Blue Note last fall, when heard live, Choklate's alto can be a mesmerizing instrument to hear from a sweetly accessible singer with a stage presence that simultaneously exudes both innocence and a humorous streetwise sensibility. This intoxicating combination is part of Choklate's charm and manages to carry To Whom It May Concern through a few rough spots. Choklate's tone is always pleasing, but her instrument is not nearly as interesting as it is when she's singing live, when her infectious personality can hide a quiet routine beginning to emerge in her craft.
The accidental singer who stumbled upon her gifts in her brother's Seattle studio, Choklate both benefits and suffers from a lack of formal vocal training. In her natural, heartfelt delivery, Choklate seduces with genuine ease and can ride a beat with the dexterity of a seasoned rapper. Yet, outside of the creatively arranged (if lyrically repetitive) "No Answer," there is a sameness in her key choices, lead and supporting vocal approaches -- choices perhaps exacerbated by her decision to write all her own material and to limit the number of producers working on To Whom It May Concern. On a few too many mid-tempo grooves, these constraints have a way of forcing fond listeners to search for a diversity of vocal ideas in the project's understated musical variations. The project's conceptual issues are especially highlighted when long-time producer Vitamin D isn't keeping fans head-bobbing to a funky beat and jingling his impressive bag of production tricks.
Luckily, To Whom It May Concern has its fair share of funky beats. On star-turners like "The Tea" and "Sun's Out," Vitamin D keeps the tracks blazing with blaring horns, hinted electronic effects and doo wop harmonies that create opportunities for Choklate to remind you why she is among soul's more promising talents. It's on tracks like the title cut, those designed for a rapper's flow, that Choklate really puts her foot in it. "Pretty" with its Niles Rodgers guitar licks and disco era strings would have been right at home at any 80s rink or discotheque; a good DJ should be able to wear an old school crowd out with an extended version ("hint, hint"). Whenever there is a party or a show of aggressive hunger for the music, Choklate is the most delectable treat.
It's not always a treat that extends to her self-reflective lyrics. Lyrically conversational and expressive of Choklate's every girl persona, her song writing works when there is strong orchestration to hang these floating words on, as in "The Tea." Her self-descriptive words prove less successful on ballads journeying to nowhere as on "The Blues" or on half-baked interludes melting before they can be savored like "One of Ya'll" and "Ain't It Funny." The romantic "Grown Folks," well-produced by Dwight Donyea Goodman, bucks this distressing trend by cohesively telling an erotic story with attractive substance. All of these ballads will only make the lucky ones miss the more evolved (and curiously absent) "Reach For The Moon," expected for this release.
Overall, To Whom It My Concern is a strong sophomore effort from a young songstress who has enough calling cards to beckon and recruit even the most discerning listeners. The challenge ahead for Choklate and her collaborators will be to compose an album that isn't more of the same, for them to keep us anxiously hooked on Choklate's goodies, instead of being merely satisfied by them. The next album needs to prove Choklate is an artist whose work has as many habit-forming properties as the cocoa beans for which she's named. Recommended.
By L. Michael Gipson