After appearances and collaborations with American urban music stars including Gang Starr and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Choclair spent much of this year touring the U.S. with Mix Master Mike and the Lyricist Lounge package.

Now he figures it’s time to bring it back home with a headlining tour of clubs in his native Great White North. The monthlong outing will take Choclair (aka Kareem Blake) from Manitoba west to British Columbia, then skips over to the East Coast, and wraps in his native Ontario.

The hard-touring performer has collected an armful of hardware in the form of Juno Awards – Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys – and became the first rapper from his country to sign with a major label – Virgin Music’s Priority imprint. His first release on that label, Ice Cold, came out this year.

Choclair made an auspicious debut in 1997 with the single “21 Years,” which won his first Juno. He won a second the next year for a collaboration with The Rascalz, “Northern Touch,” and was honored as Artist of the Year from the Urban Music Association of Canada in 1999.