Poet Hank Stewart wrote “Chocolate” in 2003 as a sensual celebration of his dark skin.
“I know why you don’t feel good sweetheart/ It’s because you need a little bit of chocolate/ Chocolate can improve your circulation/ It can ease that craving and temptation, girl.”
Now the DeKalb-based Emmy-winning poet’s work is poised to reach an even larger audience.
Soul/R&B artist Will Downing has included “Chocolate” in his latest project “The Song Garden,” which was released last week.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The two have known each other for years and had even talked about collaborating.
Then in September, Downing reached out.
“It was really an honor to be asked by a Grammy-nominated singer,” said Stewart, 57, an author and philanthropist who has recited his poetry before civil rights legend Rosa Parks and former first lady Michelle Obama. “I knew it was a good poem when I wrote it. It had a nice flow to it. I could tell it would be well received by the audience.”
Stewart, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, and creator of the annual White Linen Affair, which raises money for the Stewart Foundation, sent Downing several poems before the singer picked “Chocolate.”
Downing tweaked it a bit, performed the lyrics himself and set it to music.
“I don’t want to do the poem anymore; he did it better than I did and I don’t have low self-esteem,” said Stewart jokingly.
For his part, Downing said he was looking for something “really, really sexy.” He remembered Stewart talking about “Chocolate,” so he called him and asked the poet to recite the lyrics.
“He (Stewart) kept trying to sell me something else, ‘I got this other piece called so-and-so,’” said Downing. “I said that’s cool but for some reason, I liked this joint ‘Chocolate.’ I got behind the mic and added my own little twist.”
The song is about four minutes long.
“I played it last night at a radio station,” he said. “A woman was the host and she lost her ever-loving mind. For real.”
The album, Downing’s 24th, was his “pandemic project” (he calls it pan-dammit), which he started working on last March. He was about to launch a European tour when the virus hit.
No one knew how bad it would get.
Eventually, though, it became clear that a European trip was out.
“The light in the distance was very dim,” Downing said. The pandemic forced him to write more, leading to “The Song Garden.”
He recorded in his home studio, and with the use of technology, he was able to loop in other artists and musicians and send files forth and back. “I think I literally saw one person throughout the whole process,” he said. “We put up a special area for him with plexiglass. It was nuts. Absolutely nuts.”
The seven-track CD also features “Right Where You Are,” “Stand Up” and a duet with Maysa titled “Give You.”
Stewart and Downing say they may work together again in the future.
Stewart, a former UPS manager, started writing poetry in 1991.
It was after former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced to the world that he was HIV-positive.
“I was preparing to go to work and I turned on the news,” said Stewart. The newscast was filled with stories of murder, carjackings, inflation and bad weather.
Then he heard about Johnson.
“I had never seen the news so bad,” Stewart said. “Usually the weather and sports lighten it up, but then it crossed over.”
He started doodling on a piece of paper.
He believes God spoke to his heart and a passion was born.
He started writing every day. His first platform was at Antioch Baptist Church North, encouraged by the pastor at the time, the Rev. Cameron M. Alexander.
“That was the day that I realized why I was born,” said Stewart. “I discovered my purpose. It’s been great ever since to touch people through spoken word.”
