The Lac’s Greatest, The Flow Champion, Dr. Chokenstein, Flow Imperial, Flow Omnipitenet, Mr. Flow Game, and Mr. Choke Sumthin. These are only some of the titles the North Carolina artist, officially known as “Choke”, carry as monikers. These names fall short of describing the tremendous talent grown right in the heart of the “Tobacco State”. The young emcee, writer, producer, performer, graphic artist, and businessman juggles not spreading himself to thin like a primed Bo Jackson leaving the professional football stadium just in time to catch a flight to professional baseball practice. He never seems to lose or waste a step.
Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Choke was blessed at eight years old with the gift of finding the right words and combining these into freestyle flows over his cousins’ head bobbing beat boxes. Choke would awe crowds of people with his word play, which he did mostly for the much-appreciated attention. His older cousin Tim always nudged Choke’s creativity, unbeknownst to a young Choke, to impress the pretty older girls. Choke was always more than willing to help and never failed to impress. Onlookers would question, “Did someone teach you that, or write the words for you,” always amazed that such a young prodigy could create hot lines on the fly.
Choke grew and continued to freestyle with neighborhood friends and began writing in his junior high/middle school days. He never missed the chance to join a cipher or battle a fellow emcee. Although his hometown did not contain the colossal music scene of a New York, Atlanta, or Los Angles, Choke was able to establish himself as one of Winston’s hottest hip-hop emcees. This did not come without struggle.
As a teenager, Choke moved in with his father after his parents endured a grueling divorce. He needed reform after getting into trouble under the care of a single mother trying to raise the last two of her four kids. She felt his father could be a better role model for a young black male Unfortunately, his father was also a single parent living in a drug and crime infested area of Winston-Salem. Unable to sustain the life-style that marraige once afforded, Choke and his father slept in a home with no heat, air, and sometimes food and running utilites. Tired of sleeping in his coat and sweatsuits in the winter, Choke got involved in the street trades of his neighborhood to help his father who worked two jobs to save his property from foreclosure. This led to run ins with law enforcement, neighborhood violence, and near death experiences; all which Choke rarely discusses.
Choke changed his direction after a wake up call. His life was spared after a tool box, which lay directly behind his head, stopped a gunshot from a Glock . He still has the slug from the gunshot today. "It was crazy that night! We were out late roaming the city and seen some cats we had problems with. Things went the wrong way and guns started goin off. After a chase, we surveyed the van we were in and one of the shots went through the door right at my head. The steel tools in the toolbox stopped the bullet. My homeboy was like, "Here, keep this. This is your lucky slug."
Two years after his graduation, Choke decided to take creating music more seriously and dove into hip hop after his first real recording with a fellow emcee, Darkness. The song “Simple Minded Bitch” was a blunt, explicit, realist record-discussing women who value money and small time fame over an intelligent man with convictions and aspirations. This collaboration with Dee Linn aka Optimus Prime, Kream Beats, Darkness and Choke, circulated in the hood and the underground on the “UD Undacover” Mixtape released in 2003. Also that year Choke recorded music as one-third the trio, “Free Prizonaz”, a group comprised of Choke, B. Bigga, and Raw Deal. The three emcees began performing live at freestyle battles and open mics around the area including, “Thea’s House of Jazz and Blues”, a well-known night venue in NC. In 2004 Free Prizonaz released the album,” Test of Time” with good results for young independents. The title track, bearing the albums name, spoke lyrics of revolution and consciousness that would make Brother Malcolm and Dr Martin Luther proud of their young soldiers. The album also blended raw underground lyrics, in the truest element of the hip-hop culture. The emcees displayed an unfiltered talent high above other rappers of the day. Life situations caused the group to disband in 2004 but all the members remained very close.
Choke continued recording music, in preparation for his grand re-emergence onto the hip-hop scene. With the help of Justin Summers of Thorough Entertainment and Steve Hondos, they co-produced Choke’s first album, the 2005 “Make Moves”. This album displayed a young and cocky but sincere emcee dropping gems on such songs as “Sad Dreams”, which is a tale of a female who didn’t support her man while when he was down on his luck. Now he’s become a successful artist and she is left feeling Sad and Blue. The track “Keep it Hype” blasts into your speakers like a marching band's half time finale. This up tempo club banger still, to this day, keeps all shows rockin from the front to the back of the venue.
Make Moves received grand reviews and made Choke a well-known artist in the Triad area and North Carolina respectively. Moving 1000’s of cd’s independently, the Buzz surrounding the emcee grew tremendously in mere months. Choke began performing in numerous cities around North Carolina, including Greensboro, High Point, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Wilmington and many others. He has opened for various artists including, KRS-One, Drez of Black Sheep and even the YING YANG twins. Choke’s musical diversity is amazing, and it allows his music to touch a varied demographic of listeners.
In 2007 Choke released the underground hit, “Master’s Collection”. This album shows a maturing of the artist as his music is more laid back and his topics are more grown person. “WREAAL MEN”, is a song track, which talks about young men, especially black men, growing up and handling their responsibilities. “We made it” melodically screams summertime hit, as it paints a picture of a better life for Choke, his family, and his friends over a laid-back sample.
Choke is currently working on a new album titled "5 Times the Flow", which is slated to release fall 2008. Choke comes back with a "NOW" sound, blending southern bounce with lyrical dominance. The Flow Champion is dropping some of the hardest flow in the game on this one. "I have to spit hard, but I have to have a now sound." Cats fall off because they don't want to adapt to a now sound. They do what old people do. Stay in one place. I'm getting older but, I'm staying young. Gotta show the younger cats that they still gotta spit flame, spit hard, but they can have fun with it too."
Choke continues working on mix tapes and family projects with WREAAL SOUTH RECORDS artists “B. BIGGA” and “Raw Deal”. He also spreads the underground hip-hop message along side his fellow Carolina artists, performing and collaborating with the states freshest artists and producers.
With Choke’s hustler work ethic and quality product, he has the potential to stand high amongst the ranks of today’s best musicians and performers. As he continues to produce classic material like “Make Moves” and Master’s Collection” he is solidifies his place in hip-hops elite. Keep your ears open and yours eyes peeled for one of the “Illest emcees on the planet. Support the Carolinas “Flow Champion”, better known as Choke
