Gary Davis and his group Chocolate Star are one of my favorite conglomerations to come out of the Peter Brown / P&P family. Like everything else in this wide network of NY session players, producers, singers, and rappers, the Chocolate Star thing is a loose label that applied to both the group, Gary himself and their label, which makes things a little confusing. But the important thing is that this guy made some really progressive music in that post-disco/pre-hip hop pocket. Stuff that makes you question label dates, rewind records and wonder what the hell happened. Hot shit. "The Professor's Here(1)" and "Super Jake(2)," what the fuck. Those are probably the most straight "hip hop" style, but I think it actually gets better once you go in. I'm loving these electronic joints like "The Pop(3)" and "The Professor Is Walking(4)." They sound like a cross between 80s dancehall production, artsy shit like Antena and early techno and they are fucking awesome. That last one also appears in a sort of dub version called "The Professor Is Slow Walking(5)" (janky as hell and so much better for it), and "The Pop" comes in 12" and rap versions. Lead track "Gee Dee(6)" is obviously from an early period, but's dope nonetheless- check the more danceable alternate mix(7)." Club classic "Gotta Get Your Love" also makes appearances in both the original(8) and Kenny Dope remix(9) versions. I know there's a ton of P&P related stuff out these days, but this one should not be missed.

reviewed by the mgmnt