This album also marks the beginning of the pivotal songwriting team of George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Bernie Worrell, a partnership that would last until the 1978 release Motor Booty Affair.

Bobby "The Mighty Burner" Bennett, a DJ on WOL, told The Washington Post in 1998 "Chocolate City for me was the expression of D.C.'s classy funk and confident blackness.

"[12] George Clinton used the concept in the title track, characterizing the black population's proliferation in American inner cities as a positive development, in contrast to concerns over White flight.

Clinton's lyrics referred to Chocolate City as "my piece of the rock" as opposed to the "40 acres and a mule" that slaves were promised after the Civil War.

The lyrics also reflected Clinton's thanks for the capital's strong support for P-Funk, further shown by the album cover showing the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol, rendered in melting milk chocolate.