R&B/Soul Artist Chocolate Steele is the "Real Deal"

main photo credit: K. Salkey Photograpy

IF YOU GO

WHO: Chocolate Steele, performing at “Remembering Jimmy Hayes,” a tribute to the late Persuasions singer.

WHAT: R&B/Soul

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday May 17, 2018.

WHERE: The Cutting Room, 44 E. 32nd St., Manhattan. http://thecuttingroomnyc.com or 212-691-1900.

HOW MUCH: $25 advance; $30 day of show; $20 food/drink minimum per person.

MORE INFO: www.chocolatesteele.com

Chocolate Steele’s new single, “When You’re Next To Me,” is a celebration of the excitement of new love that reflects the rising R&B/Soul artist’s upbeat approach to music and life.

“All ages can relate to it,” Chocolate Steele said of the chart-topping track from her new EP, “Real Deal.” “When I wrote the song I was thinking of it as something that could work across the board. It can mean different things to different people.”

The track highlights the Brooklyn resident’s smooth and vibrant vocals backed by a steady, upbeat groove. The title of the EP, which was released in September, is appropriate. With “When You’re Next To Me,” Chocolate Steele has shown she is indeed the “Real Deal.

“When You’re Next to Me” hit No. 1 in four categories on the Starfleet Music Pool: Top 50 Indie/Urban/Hip-Hop/Latin; Top 50 Urban/Hip-Hop; Top 60 Dance; and Top 60 Crossover.

The song has also garnered radio play across the country, from Connecticut to Chicago to San Francisco. “It’s an exciting time for me,” said Chocolate Steele. “To see people appreciating my music is a wonderful feeling.”

She said she has a unique style of songwriting. “When I hear music, I hear lyrics coming from the music,” Chocolate Steele said. “That's how I actually wrote that song and most of my songs.”

“Real Deal,” as well as her debut full-length album, “It Takes Time” (2015), are both available at cdbaby.com. “I love both albums but the EP is a little more soulful,” she said. “I feel like I’m growing as an artist.”

Chocolate Steele possesses an effervescent stage presence, engaging the audience with powerful performances. She performs on Thursday May 17 at the Cutting Room in Manhattan as part of a tribute to the late Persuasions singer Jimmy Hayes.

She said she especially loves the interaction between artist and audience in the live setting. “When I perform in front of people I’m very vulnerable,” Chocolate Steele said. “Many of my songs are based on personal experiences or experiences that other people I know have had.

“It’s something that I created that I'm giving to the audience and hoping that they like it, and that there's something they can relate to,” she said. “When I see their faces light up it’s an exhilarating feeling.”

Music was prevalent in Chocolate Steele’s home while growing up. Her mother and aunts were constantly singing, she said. At just age 4, she joined her family’s church choir. “I was so little that they didn't have a choir gown for me that would fit,” Chocolate Steele recalled with a laugh. “So one of the ladies had to sew one for me.”

At about age 8, she was introduced to the wonders of R&B and soul greats like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Teddy Pendergrass and Stephanie Mills.

“My mom used to have all these albums,” Chocolate Steele said. “I would sit in front of the record player and play those albums and sing along to them over and over for hours.”

As a child and teenager Chocolate Steele took dance lessons, acting classes, gymnastics, and ran track. She came back to singing around 2010 when she and her husband, who also has a music background, built a recording studio.

“I never got it out of my system,” she said. “We decided to start writing songs. He would come up with the melody and I would write the lyrics. At first I would give my songs to other people but then I said, ‘I might as well sing it.’”

Off-stage, Chocolate Steele is a New York City high school teacher. She said she tries to impart in her students the same work ethic that embodies her music career.

“I tell them that in anything that you do you have to put your best foot forward and do the work involved,” Chocolate Steele said. “There's no way around it. You must put the effort in and be accountable for what you're doing. Nothing comes easy that’s worthwhile. You have to work for it. There’s no slacking.

It’s an approach that’s working well for this talented, up-and-coming artist.

Look for Chocolate Steele this summer live and on radio broadcasts at Brooklyn Information & Culture (BRIC). “I am looking forward to the summer and the amazing opportunities that I will experience, as I will be able to connect with people through my music,” Chocolate Steele said.