Uneek, a Baltimore native (Errigh LaBoo Jr.), is making his big-screen debut to showcase the positive influence of Baltimore club music culture. Known as Neek, he has dedicated years to uplifting his community and transforming the lives of local youth. Neek is a prominent figure in the independent documentary “Dark City Beneath the Beat.” The film premiered at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival and can now be streamed on Netflix. This captivating film explores the diverse aspects of Baltimore’s club music scene and its profound impact on the community. We sat down with the business mogul to learn more about his upcoming projects, goals, and more.
Dark City Beneath the Beat
HypeFresh: How did you create your organization Bmore Than Dance?
Uneek: In some weird way, I like to think the community forced me to. As young adults, we loved our dance and music culture. When I became a sophomore at Morgan State University, I began what I thought was going to be a 1-time event; The King Of Baltimore. The event was a huge success. The community used Facebook and MySpace to demand that I do another show. A second show evolved into this evolving factory of training and mentoring the youth in our culture and many times in life as a whole to help them learn how to monetize it as they grow older as entrepreneurs.
HF: How did you get involved with Dark City Beneath the Beat?
Uneek: TT The Artist and I connected and the rest was history. We met at her request as she was transitioning here from Florida. She talked to me about her vision and she attended a lot if not all the shows in the early years. We actually made an attempt to film this movie years ago but we ran into some unforeseen events along the way. My story is captured because after our generation’s pioneer K-Swift passed away I was one of few who kept at it with this culture and even elevated it to new heights when our city started to lose hope in making it mainstream. It’s no way I could turn down the opportunity to accomplish what so many people thought would never happen. Then she went and got Issa Rae as an executive producer and I just knew we were on to something special.
Dance Evolution
HF: Did you believe Bmore Than Dance would evolve like it has?
Uneek: I really have believed for a long time about speaking things into existence. As a kid, I always knew I wanted to accomplish something special. I wanted my mom to see my name in lights. I went to college and graduated for my mom, I also worked on Bmore Than Dance because I knew I had what it takes to make this something to pass down for generations. Growing up, I never knew I would be on the biggest streaming service that I enjoyed watching as a college kid planning the making of this brand, but I always knew we had something special that could captivate the world.
HF: Explain to us your goals for the next 5 years for your organization.
Uneek: 5 years? Brick n Motor Locations In Baltimore, New Jersey, Philly, LA, ATL. National events bring much-needed attention to the Superstar talent we have here at home. Tours, Traveling as the Performing Artist we are, maybe even a Baltimore Club Music Track going platinum with me doing the vocals.
Philanthropy Efforts
HF: What kind of local initiatives do you have? I heard you have teaching demonstrations at the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center
Uneek: Yes, we’re currently booking that for July. We also are partnered with the WaterFront Partnership Of Baltimore all summer for showcases, workshops, dance parties and performances. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from 430pm-830pm.
HF: How did performing alongside artists like Rick Ross and Da Baby come about?
Uneek: We often get booked as a performance group. I’m an Emcee, My djs perform live and the veteran dancers travel with us and perform alongside. We have opened concerts for many artists over the last 10 years. Rick Ross being one of my favorite artists was a lot of fun. We did Coppin State Homecoming and he showed love to the kids. We opened a summer event where Dababy was the headline as his career began to take off. A lot of artists as they rise make a stop in Baltimore and we tend to get booked for a big name performance. It’s been a blessing to represent our culture on the same card as some of the biggest names in the industry.