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Chocolate Genius, known alternately as Chocolate Genius Inc., is the brainchild of Marc Anthony Thompson, an eclectic singer and songwriter whose work has encompassed contemporary forms of R&B, jazz, folk, and rock. Thompson was born in Panama, raised in California, and later moved to New York, where he became involved in the downtown avant-garde scene. When his early solo career, which included the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner%22">Warner</a>-distributed albums Marc Anthony Thompson (1984) and Watts & Paris (1989), hit a dead end, Thompson made that downtown scene his focal point, most notably recording with guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:7jAeRfT8LYCxydM2Y1Egvn">Marc Ribot</a> in the mid-'90s.
Thompson conceived Chocolate Genius partly as a joke -- the alias of a fictional, self-important recluse -- but it soon turned into a full-fledged recording project. Two proper Chocolate Genius albums, Black Music (1998) and Godmusic (2001), were released on the Richard Branson-founded <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22V2%22">V2</a> label. The loose, free-floating collective of instrumentalists who supported Thompson included <a href="spotify:artist:7jAeRfT8LYCxydM2Y1Egvn">Ribot</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1S08EVUPAjoRfPXPYZkFKI">Jane Scarpantoni</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:46IQ7Q0jkW6dW0l4e15FFD">John Medeski</a>, Chris Wood, <a href="spotify:artist:48oNDvKRqviSFzow0ZXHXa">Chris Whitley</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1nCiDbYWnN9G4VQ4LxeyxD">Vernon Reid</a>, among others. Thompson and his associates then went by Chocolate Genius Inc. for Black Yankee Rock (2005), Swansongs (2010), and Truth vs. Beauty (2016), predominantly low-key and atmospheric works for smaller labels. Thompson's activity between releases included studio work with <a href="spotify:artist:3K0BfjMh2dS8WITuiMuGGW">Lizz Wright</a> and touring as a member of <a href="spotify:artist:3eqjTLE0HfPfh78zjh6TqT">Bruce Springsteen</a>'s Seeger Sessions Band. ~ Steve Huey & Andy Kellman, Rovi
Thompson conceived Chocolate Genius partly as a joke -- the alias of a fictional, self-important recluse -- but it soon turned into a full-fledged recording project. Two proper Chocolate Genius albums, Black Music (1998) and Godmusic (2001), were released on the Richard Branson-founded <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22V2%22">V2</a> label. The loose, free-floating collective of instrumentalists who supported Thompson included <a href="spotify:artist:7jAeRfT8LYCxydM2Y1Egvn">Ribot</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1S08EVUPAjoRfPXPYZkFKI">Jane Scarpantoni</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:46IQ7Q0jkW6dW0l4e15FFD">John Medeski</a>, Chris Wood, <a href="spotify:artist:48oNDvKRqviSFzow0ZXHXa">Chris Whitley</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1nCiDbYWnN9G4VQ4LxeyxD">Vernon Reid</a>, among others. Thompson and his associates then went by Chocolate Genius Inc. for Black Yankee Rock (2005), Swansongs (2010), and Truth vs. Beauty (2016), predominantly low-key and atmospheric works for smaller labels. Thompson's activity between releases included studio work with <a href="spotify:artist:3K0BfjMh2dS8WITuiMuGGW">Lizz Wright</a> and touring as a member of <a href="spotify:artist:3eqjTLE0HfPfh78zjh6TqT">Bruce Springsteen</a>'s Seeger Sessions Band. ~ Steve Huey & Andy Kellman, Rovi
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