Young Leek
By: Toshitaka Kondo
POSTED: 14:13 EST, September 1, 2006

Roots: South Jersey Flavor: Energetic teenage rap for the club Cosign: “Leek’s definitely gonna appeal to kids. With their support, he’s gonna be the next Bow Wow or Lil Romeo.”—Bobby Valentino

The scene at Operation Smile’s black-tie charity event, complete with teenagers rocking expensive designer duds, is straight out of MTV’s "My Super Sweet 16". It’s not where you would expect to see a 16-year-old rapper from Baltimore performing, but winning over this teenybopper audience actually aligns perfectly with Talik “Young Leek” Baker’s immediate goal: “I hope to be the first person to get the Baltimore club sound poppin’,” he says. Baltimore club, also known as Baltimore house or Baltimore breaks, is a hybrid of house and electronica, boasting tempos around 130 beats per minute. It’s also what drives Leek’s frenetic smash “Jiggle It.”

left

Not long ago he seemed headed toward a different career altogether. A talented wide receiver and safety, the 6’1” Leek was the first freshman to play varsity football at Absegami High School in the Atlantic City area, where he was raised by his mother. But his gridiron hopes were cut short when he was temporarily paralyzed after making a hard tackle.

When he moved to Baltimore last year to live with his father, Leek met K-Swift (now his comanager), who encouraged him to embrace B-More’s musical specialty. “I had to do something to win the crowd, and K-Swift was, like, ‘This is what they like here,’” says Leek. Once “Jiggle It” hit the airwaves in September 2005, it spent 13 weeks as the most requested song on Baltimore’s 92Q and got Def Jam’s attention. Leek was quickly added to the label’s roster and then began working on his debut, Somethin’ to Prove. From the hyper “One Million” to the teenage love anthem “What’s Up,” featuring Bobby Valentino, Leek has crafted an infectious, PG-rated sound track.

Back in the day, which in his case means about a year ago, Leek had his doubts about Baltimore club. “I hated it,” he says. “But it’s a movement, and now I see where it’s going.” Maybe that’s because he’s leading the way.

Do you want VIBE delivered to your home or office? CLICK HERE.